Master's Campaign
by Hopeblossom
Summary: Luka and Meiko have never gotten on. However, due to Master's new advertising campaign, them and the other Vocaloids are paired together to complete some sort of task. Will the girls ever like each other, after being forced together? And how will this effect the Vocaloid group as a whole?
1. For Argument's Sake

**Chapter One**

* * *

Luka and Meiko were having yet another argument. Ever since Luka had arrived into the Vocaloid household, the two women had seemed to have a problem with each other. It distressed the other members of Vocaloid greatly.

"I'm Luka! I'm too superior to be nice to you all because I have no personality and a block of ice for a heart! Bow down to your dumb old queen," Meiko crowed, using a whiny voice as an imitation of what Luka apparently sounded like.

The pink haired lady simply raised an eyebrow. She sat with her back straight and one leg crossed over the other, simply watching Meiko insult her. "I see," Luka confirmed.

She never tried to get involved in these fights. Meiko could bait her as much as she liked, but it took a lot for Luka's anger to aroused.

"You can't even stand up for yourself, " Meiko snorted. "You just sit there, all prim and proper. I bet you were born with a silver spoon in your mouth. Am I right?"

"You are incorrect."

The comment made Meiko grin even more. "You're the most robotic of us all. Perhaps Master forgot to give you any feelings at all? No wonder your fans call you the Ice Queen!"

Luka's hands clenched. "My fans are none of your concern."

"Meiko, stop," Kaito sighed. He often felt responsible for these fights, as he was one of the oldest. Unfortunately, Meiko and Luka were much more responsible than him, and when they were angry they could be rather intimidating.

Behind the blue haired man, Miku, Len, and Rin were watching the events unfold. They also hated these fights. Of course, they had known Meiko the longest, but Luka was so kind to them…

"I'll stop when she leaves." Meiko pushed through the four other Vocaloids and left. She was going to go and sit in her room and drink. Wait until Kaito, Miku and the twins came to their senses.

Four pairs of eyes focused on Luka. "Are you…okay?" Miku asked timidly. She herself had luckily never been on the receiving end of Meiko's rage.

"If you are talking about what just happened, I am fine," Luka said. She retreated into herself further after those wretched arguments between herself and Meiko.

"We're so sorry. You're new here and all, and I really don't know why she's being like this. Meiko is super nice most of the time!" Kaito commented uneasily.

"There is no need to worry. I am sorry for causing such bother in the house."

"It's not your fault!" The Kagamine twins mumbled, just as Luka began to walk away, into the kitchen. She always made tea after arguments. She would sit in silence and sip at it.

On one occasion, the younger members of Vocaloid had taken it upon themselves to watch what she did. She did not cry; she didn't say anything at all. Usually, she just watched the clock and drank her tea, read a magazine and drank her tea.

This upset them all the more.

* * *

Meiko looked up when she heard a knock on the door. "One minute!" She called, moving the sake bottle somewhere less visible in case it was the Kagamine's or Miku. They knew about her drinking, but she preferred to make it less obvious during the day.

The door opened, and it was only Kaito who stood there. Bakaito.

"Meiko," he murmured, leaning against the closed door. "What is your problem?"

"I just don't like her," Meiko replied bitterly, taking a swig of sake.

"You didn't like Gakupo at first either, but-"

"He doesn't live with us. If he did end up irritating me, then I wouldn't have to live with him!"

Kaito rolled his eyes. As Meiko's original counterpart, he knew her more than anybody else. In fact, he thought that their relationship as friends was very similar to the Kagamine's. Except, instead of mirroring each other, they balanced each other out. Red and blue. Passionate and easy-going. Fierce and mellow.

That was how they were.

"Perhaps she's just too shy. Miku and the twins are very fond of her. She seems decent enough, I just haven't had the chance to talk to her. You should be kind to her. Give her a chance, at least," Kaito reasoned. He walked over and gently prised the sake bottle from Meiko's hands, before sitting next to her on the bed. "One shot is all she needs."

Meiko nodded. "Yeah. One shot straight through the head!"

"Meiko, that's so nasty." The man frowned, putting the bottle of alcohol down to the side of him. "Could you not give her a chance for me?"

"You may be my friend, but I don't love you that much," she muttered.

"I just don't understand where this hatred has come from!"

"It must be wired into me. Master created me, and he created her too. I bet he knows all about our little showdowns."

Kaito couldn't help but smile. Meiko had some sort of suspicion towards Master. She never had trusted him. In fact, the first thing she had said to Kaito was, "What's he doing with his time, creating singing robots?"

"Well, we're watching having a family dinner tonight. Be nice Meiko, or you'll be living with hatred forever," Kaito warned. This would be the perfect opportunity for the girls to get to know each other.

* * *

At seven o' clock that evening, the doorbell rung. When Kaito had said family dinner, he meant family dinner, plus Gakupo, plus Gumi, plus Master.

Gakupo and Gumi arrived first.

"Thank you for having us," Gakupo said with a small bow. Len, who had opened the door, was surprised to see such formality.

Gumi followed suit, and bowed enthusiastically. "Thank you gracious hosts for accepting us to be your dinner guests," she half said and half sang.

Gakupo glanced at his sister with amusement. "We heard Master is coming tonight?"

Len gawked at the purple haired man and his green haired sister. They were the oddest couple he had ever met, due to Gumi's high eccentricity and Gakupo's steadfast formality.

"Master is making an appearance," Rin beamed, seeing her brother staring silently at their guests. "Please come in."

Gakupo bowed once again, before entering the house. Gumi simply rushed straight in, taking hold of Rin's hands and beginning to babble about something or other. Gakupo looked apologetically at Len, before making a comment about sister's are definitely a bother at times.

Ten minutes later, the doorbell rung once more. The house went silent.

"Who will answer to Master!" Gumi cried.

"We can't," the Kagamine twins replied. "We're busy."

"Doing what?" Kaito asked, shooting them a glare. Opening the door to Master was an honour! Although, a slightly intimidating one. He was nice enough, but if he visited, he definitely had something on his mind.

Meiko began to walk to the door, only to stop in her tracks.

Luka had opened the door.

"Thank you for visiting," she said politely, bowing slightly as Gakupo had done earlier. "I hope you will enjoy our company."

Master laughed affectionately. "It seems my programming has worked for you, Luka. Just how I envisioned." The man then spied Meiko, lurking in the background. "Meiko! How long has it been?"

"Not long enough for me to miss you," Meiko commented absentmindedly. She was eyeing Luka up.

Master only grinned. Meiko's distrust was a shared joke.

He had programmed Meiko to be feisty, and that was exactly what he had gotten.

Eventually, everybody was seated around the table.

"This is great," Master complimented the food.

"Luka and I prepared it," Miku grinned. It had been a pleasant afternoon, cooking in the kitchen.

"You are both very impressive," Gakupo said. He had met Luka only once, very briefly. She intrigued him.

His comment set Gumi off laughing. She was nudging her brother, and whispering things into his shoulder, due to the fact he was much taller than her. Gakupo sent his sibling a disapproving look before continuing to eat.

After vast conversations, everybody had eaten their fill. This was when Master became serious.

"Down at HQ, we've decided to advertise the whole lot of you. Seeing as running eight different advertising campaigns would be seriously expensive, we're going to run a buddy system, which makes only four campaigns. In your pairs, we're going to give you a task. We'll be recording you, so if you have any heart to heart conversations, we can put them on the website, along with you guys doing your tasks."

Kaito nodded. "That makes sense. Showing how close we all are, right?"

"Exactly," Master nodded. "We even did a poll, to see who the fans would most like to see paired together. We've just gone off the results, and that is who you'll be doing your task with. Understood?"

Meiko smiled to herself. She could already predict the pairings. It was so simple! Her and Kaito. Gakupo and Gumi. Rin and Len. Ice Queen and Miku.

"The results were very interesting," Master continued. "The poll was called, 'Which Vocaloids would you like to see becoming close to one another?'. This was so that more obvious pairings, such as Rin and Len would not be chosen as easily. They're already so close to each other, that there would be no point pairing them together. These campaigns are supposed to build affinity between you all as pairs and as a group."

"Just tell us the pairings, Master!" Rin whined. She was desperate to know.

"Okay. You first, seeing as you're so desperate, Rinny. You will be paired with Gakupo."

The two glanced at each other. They had barely spoken!

"I hope you don't mind my company, Rin," Gakupo said, smiling a little. Rin high fived him across the table, saying, "Let's go! Let's go!"

"Miku, you and Len are buddied up."

Len smiled at Miku. Miku grinned back.

Meiko began to worry. Her and Kaito, Gumi and Luka. Come on!

"Kaito, you and Gumi are up together."

The pair nodded at each other, whilst Gakupo warned Kaito to look after his sister. Rin demanded why Len didn't do that for her? The whole table erupted into banter.

Meiko had stopped breathing. Why the hell did the fans want her and Luka to become closer? She'd had enough of her already.

"And obviously, Luka and Meiko, you two are paired up. I was kinda surprised myself!"

* * *

**AN: **Finally, I get to write something with Meiko and Luka as the main characters! I'm unsure of how exactly their relationship will progress, in terms of how much it will progress...Please review!


	2. Tea On The Train

**Chapter Two.**

* * *

Luka couldn't help but glance at Meiko, who was staring right back at her. Her eyes were so fierce; they revealed the feisty and sometimes aggressive spirit that was Meiko.

"I also have your campaign signs handy, right here. In a smaller format, of course. Remember those photo shoots you all did? This is the product. I didn't tell you the plan because the marketing team were unsure about this at first." Master began to fish around in the briefcase he carried with him at all times. He set four miniature posters on the table.

The first poster was patterned like a chess board, with yellow and purple squares. Gakupo was on the right side, holding a samurai sword straight in front on him, so that the tip was towards the camera. Rin was on the left side of the poster, smiling cheekily and making a peace sign with her hand. Master told the group that Rin and Gakupo's campaign would be named 'Stray Girl and Samurai'.

The second poster was Len and Miku's. Len was positioned casually on one side of the poster, holding the back of his neck with his hands. He smiled shyly. Miku, on the other hand, looked much more like a model. One hand was clenched in her ruffled teal tresses. She also happened to be biting her bottom lip, smirking. The campaign was called, 'Sugar and Spice'.

Kaito and Gumi's poster was even brighter than the last two. Gumi was waving enthusiastically at the camera, laughing. Kaito was holding out his hand, smiling brightly. His long blue scarf flowed out behind him. Master told the group that Kaito and Gumi's named project would be, "Bright Lights," to match their bright colours and personalities.

The last poster was of course Luka and Meiko's. The campaign was called, 'Fire and Ice'. The photographs that Luka and Meiko had taken separately now looked so different on a poster. They were back to back. Luka's hand rested delicately on her stretched neck. Her striking blue eyes were directly towards the camera. Meiko's back was arched, as if she was fighting to be taller than Luka, to gain more attention. The brunette's eyes were cast towards the heavens.

"Your poster is so eerie," Len commented to Luka. She couldn't take her eyes off it. This was real. She had been paired up with Meiko, of all people.

"Much more serious than the others," Master agreed. "Now, everybody. Be enthusiastic. Please! This is a wonderful opportunity to gain popularity and a deeper relationship with your colleagues. No fakery for the heart to heart conversations, however. No falseness."

Master was just about ready to leave.

"What about the tasks though?" Gakupo piped up. "Do we get no clues?"

"The projects will be starting straight away. You have all been booked into hotels for tomorrow night, in different locations depending on your task. You will receive further instructions."

The group was stunned into silence. This was all happening very quickly!

Whilst the rest of Vocaloid stayed to help clear up the table, Meiko escorted Master to the door.

"A word?" She hinted, walking outside the house with her creator.

"Anything for my Vocaloids." He waited for her to speak.

"I cannot spend time alone with Luka Megurine. I do not like her." Meiko scowled as she spoke.

"Huh? Why not?" He was confused. Upon Luka's creation, Master had thought that her and Meiko would get along well. Compliment each other, even.

"Can't you change the campaigns? I really despise her."

"But why? You'll have to tell me what the problem is."

The question caused Meiko to pause for a moment. "She's just so…Emotionless. Was that on purpose? She seems so superior and cold."

Master began to laugh. Meiko glared at him. This wasn't funny!

"This has only cemented why I think you two should be paired up. Meiko, you've driven her away with your stubbornness, and due to her logical thinking, she has taken the hint and doesn't want to cross you again." He shook his head, still smiling fondly. "Anyway, fire and ice. Perhaps you can thaw her a little?"

Before Meiko could protest any further, Master bid her goodbye and began to walk away.

She had never liked him anyway.

* * *

The next day was very hurried and frantic. Nobody had any idea of what to pack.

"I'll just take my usual clothes," Kaito said calmly, sorting his things.

"But what if we're going somewhere exotic?" Miku wanted to know. She had so many clothes that choosing a few without knowing where she was going was tough.

"Take a mixture," Len replied. He had packed shorts, trousers, T-shirts and jumpers; suitable clothing for all weather. "Plus, there'll be some kind of washing facility wherever we are. Just don't pack too much."

"Yeah, Miku," Rin giggled childishly.

Meiko was packing her belongings in the sanctuary of her own bedroom. She passed Luka's room to head to the kitchen, and due to the open door, she could spy inside.

"You've already finished?" Meiko demanded, seeing Luka was sat on her bed, reading a book. A suitcase was near her feet.

"Yes." The pink haired woman didn't even look up from her book.

The brunette was slightly taken aback by Luka's icy tone. Usually Luka had to be provoked before she became so cruel sounding.

"There's no need to get angry," Meiko muttered. "I was just asking."

Luka turned to face Meiko. Her eyes looked a little red. "As much as you do not want to be spending time with me, I do not want to be spending time with you, either. Don't expect me to put up with your nonsense during this campaign."

Meiko turned pink in the face. Those words were rather strong for Luka.

The brunette left, headed to the kitchen and returned to her own room. If Luka was going to be this moody with her during the whole task, then it was definitely going to be a drag.

* * *

That evening, everybody was departing. They had all met at the train station to wish each other goodbye, along with a few cameramen who would be accompanying the pairs.

Miku and Len were the first to go. Len waved at Rin, but she came to hug him. Afterwards, she rolled her eyes, muttering, "I won't miss you that much."

After that, Gakupo and Rin's train arrived.

"Please behave for Kaito, Gumi. Do not embarrass your older brother," Gakupo mentioned firmly. "I don't want to be apologising to Kaito when I get back."

"But, Gakupo! I am no longer a small child. You can count on me!" Gumi's voice was breezy and excited. She was so childlike.

Gakupo ruffled Gumi's hair affectionately. "Sure, sure. Just listen to Kaito." Gakupo then shook the said man's hand.

"Look after Rin, for Len," Kaito murmured. "I don't think they've ever been apart before…"

"Hey Kaito, I'm right here y'know!" Rin pushed the blue haired man, and they dissolved into laughter.

Then, only Meiko, Luka, Kaito and Gumi were left. Kaito and Meiko stood away from where Gumi and Luka were talking.

"Meiko, behave, okay?"

"Don't talk to me like that, Kaito!" Meiko fumed, slapping Kaito's arm. "Luka has mutual hatred for me anyway."

"Show her your good side. If you two come back and you aren't getting along, I will shut you in a room together until it happens."

"Okay, okay, don't push it." Meiko looked over to the tracks to see a train fast approaching. "Our train, our train!" She called.

"Farewell Kaito," Luka said with a wave. "You too, Gumi." The pink haired woman the boarded the train alone, leaving Meiko to glance at Kaito knowingly.

"Told ya she hates me."

"Just go," Kaito said, shaking his head and shooing Meiko onto the train. Once she was on, she found Luka, sitting opposite the cameraman. They were both reading, already.

"Do you want a drink?" Meiko asked Luka. She would at least try to be nice to her. Thaw the goddamned Ice Queen.

"I can buy my own," Luka replied, turning page in her book.

Meiko closed her eyes and exhaled. "Look, what do you like to drink? I am going to buy you a stupid frickin-"

"Tea."

"Huh?"

"Tea. Milk, no sugar." Luka glanced up from her book, looking Meiko in the eye, almost daring her to say something rude.

Meiko soon returned with one tea and one coffee, for Luka and her respectively. After one sip, Luka laid down her book.

"What do you think our task will be?" She asked cautiously. She knew somebody, most probably Kaito or Miku, had asked Meiko to be nice to her. It was unnerving, seeing as Meiko's nature could flip on her at any second.

Meiko shrugged. "Knowing that bastard Master, it'll be something ridiculous and practically impossible."

The brunette watched as Luka stared at her for a moment. But then, lo and behold, Luka began to laugh! An actual, melodic, real Luka laughter.

'_I deserve a medal for that,' _Meiko thought to herself, slightly amused. She hadn't even said anything funny, had she?

"What's so funny?"

"Nothing," Luka replied, sobered once more. She picked up her book and began to read. Eventually, she fell asleep, curled up against the train window and seat.

The cameraman nudged Meiko, who was still wide awake. "You made her laugh! You made the Ice Queen laugh. She's kinda cute when she smiles."

Meiko shrugged. "Once an Ice Queen, always an Ice Queen. When do we get off this train, anyways?"

* * *

**AN: **Quick update! I hope you all enjoy this second chapter. Please read and review!


	3. Ice Queen And Fire Girl

**Chapter Three**

* * *

"Luka! Luka, we have to get off now. This is our stop." The poor cameraman was trying desperately to wake up the said woman. Meiko was waiting impatiently nearby, tapping her foot rhythmically.

"Just shove her," Meiko snorted. "Everybody's getting off!"

The brunette walked over, and before she had a chance to shake some alertness into Luka, the pink haired lady woke up.

Luka blinked, dazed for a second. "I…My apologies, for the inconvenience." She then gathered her belongings together and followed Meiko and the cameraman off the train. She began to walk next to Meiko.

"I am surprised you even woke me up," she said, looking amused. "I would have thought you'd leave me there."

'_Well look at you with a sense of humour,'_ Meiko thought to herself. "Master would've killed me."

Luka smiled thoughtfully. "You are obviously in his favour."

The comment made Meiko's mouth drop. "Me? In his favour? You must be joking," she scoffed. "I've made the least money for him."

"If you were that useless, you would have been uninstalled by now. He evidently likes you," Luka said firmly. Was Meiko really that oblivious? Surely not? "Do you know where we are staying, exactly?"

"Some sleazy joint, probably."

"You underestimate Mater's kindness."

"Yeah, yeah. Wait until you've been around as long as me, Luka." They pair glanced at each other. Luka looked slightly dismayed, Meiko thought.

Then again, at least she was showing any kind of expression.

"Meiko, Luka! Hotel's here!" The cameraman had walked ahead of them and found the hotel. It looked like your average hotel; moderately large, painted a neutral colour.

The trio wandered inside. Meiko and Luka left the cameraman to look at brochures whilst they checked in.

"Hello, how may I help you today?" The receptionist's words were all pressed together in a flurried rush.

"We, and that guy over there, are supposed to be staying here for… a designated amount of time." The receptionist gave Meiko a strange look. "We should be booked under the name Vocaloid?"

The receptionist began to laugh loudly. "Actually, the name you were booked under was Mr M. Aster." She smiled kindly. "We've had Vocaloid clients staying here before."

Luka nodded. One corner of her mouth was curving into a smile. "I see. Could we please have the keys? For the cameraman, too."

They were given two sets of keys. After calling the cameraman over, who they now learned was called Kaori, they all headed up the stairs and found their two consecutive rooms. Kaori took his key, bid goodnight to the girls and promptly entered his room.

Meiko and Luka did the same.

"Meiko…"

"What?" The brunette asked, as she followed Luka into the room.

"I hope you don't mind, but there only seems to be one bed."

For once, Meiko went silent. "That's…that's…This is all Master!" Her voice escalated louder. "I can't share a bed with you. In fact, I'd prefer sleeping with Kaori."

"I must say that so would I. However, it was part of the deal. We have to share a room for the heart to hearts."

"I'm calling that bastard!"

After murmuring a quick, "Sure, sure," Luka collapsed onto the bed. She stretched out on her back - much like a cat or kitten might do - and yawned, closing her eyes gently. So tired. So, so tired.

"Master! We can't share a bed! This is preposterous!"

Pause.

"What do you mean, we're two grown women? That makes it worse. Do you not know that we both need our privacy?"

Pause.

"Can't you just get us a room with two single- What the hell do you mean, this is will teach me a lesson?…Improve heart to hearts? What, don't tell me you're hoping for more explicit-"

Pause.

Meiko put her mobile away and turned to face Luka. "He hung up on me."

"Ah."

"Well, I'll just take this side of the bed," Meiko muttered, sitting down and taking off her shoes. "He said we can check out the Vocaloid website now, to see what our task is."

Luka suddenly became alert. "That's great," she said, hurriedly finding her laptop among her clothes and belongings. Her fingers swiftly typed in the web address she needed, and she went on to the campaign site, skimming through the articles. There were four sections, each designated to one pair.

"Okay, here we are," the pink haired woman muttered, still skimming through the articles. Both her and Meiko were anxious to know what there task would be. "Stray Girl and Samurai will be entering a ballroom dance tournament after a certain amount of lessons."

"That's a ridiculous task."

"I have heard Gakupo is quite the dancer. Sugar and Spice will be posing as each other to see how many people they can fool."

Meiko laughed aloud. "That really is just plain stupid. Any moron should be able to distinguish Miku Hatsune from little Len boy! "

"The Bright Lights team will be producing an art exhibit-"

This made Meiko splutter even louder. "Kaito? Kaito and art? What's he gonna, paint a tub of that dumb ol' ice cream he buys?" She shook her head, still giggling. "New wonder of the artistic world - Portrait of carrots and soft scoop."

Luka smiled to herself. She also found Kaito's childlike obsession with ice cream amusing. "Fire and Ice will be.."

"Will be?"

"Training in martial arts and competing."

"Against each other?"

"It doesn't say," Luka replied, thinking to herself. She glanced over at Meiko, sizing her up. "I'm wondering who would win, between you and I."

"Me, obviously."

"And why's that?"

Meiko's eyes slid down Luka's frame. "Why's that? Isn't it evident?"

"No. We are both of similar frame."

'_She means we both have tits, doesn't she?' _Meiko shook her head. "Maybe so, but I've been in bar fights."

"Who's to say I haven't?"

Their eyes met. "Have you been in fights?"

Luka looked away, smiling coyly at the floor. "I have never needed to be. But…But I could take you on!" She took on a semi-fierce look; like that of a puppy trying to scratch your leg.

"Fine. Get up." Meiko stood up - tilted her head and cracked her knuckles. Luka joined her, once again weighing Meiko up in her mind. The brunette rushed at her, but Luka simply rolled on top of the bed, smiling subtly.

"Nice tactic," Luka commented sarcastically. Meiko had turned to face her, and looked like she was about to pounce. "_Bite me."_

Meiko's nostrils flared at the challenge. She once again tried to tackle Luka, but this time, succeeded. The two scuffled with each other.

"I still don't like you," Luka said through gritted teeth, trying to flip Meiko over so that she was on the dominant side.

"Don't flatter yourself; you're still an Ice Queen to me," Meiko replied haughtily, still having Luka pinned down. The poor woman was squirming beneath her, trying so hard to regain control.

She had asked for a fight though.

"I give in," Luka cried, thoroughly defeated. "You win, Meiko, just get off of me!"

"Whatever," Meiko shrugged, releasing Luka from her grip.

The two women did not know that the reason they hadn't been allowed to switch rooms was because this room in particular was bugged with cameras, to film heart to hearts. In fact, with a little editing, their wrestling session would be online rather soon.

* * *

Even later that night, at around two AM, Meiko was still finding it hard to sleep. Her and Luka had split the bed vertically, so that Meiko was supposed to sleep on the left side and Luka was supposed to sleep on the right side.

Supposed to.

Luka had already curled up near Meiko's back, most probably attracted by the warmth.

So, it turned out, Luka wasn't as bad as Meiko had anticipated. Okay. But her sleeping so close was weird.

"I need to get some sleep," Meiko reminded herself. She turned, and of course, Luka was right there next to her, breathing softly near Meiko's shoulder.

Stupid Luka. Should've kept to her own side of the stupid bed.

The brunette shifted a little and attempted to move Luka away.

"Please, I need some sleep to, y'know!"

But, she didn't really want to wake a sleeping Ice Queen, either.

Luka mumbled something in her sleep. She had a troubled look on her face.

"Don't give me that look. You've given me enough grief."

Once again, the pink haired woman simply shifted a little, bundling up closer to Meiko's warm closer.

"For God's sake," Meiko groaned, trying to shuffle further away. She was right on the edge of the bed!

But then, an idea struck her!

Creeping out of bed, Meiko walked to the other side of the bed, and slipped in next to Luka. Now, they were further apart.

Then again, were they further apart? Which was better: Luka being curled next to Meiko's back, or Meiko being curled next to Luka's?

Once again, the brunette groaned.

She found a blanket in one of the hotel cupboards, grabbed a pillow for herself and then proceeded to sleep on the floor.

* * *

**AN: **I am updating this quickly because I am finding it pleasant to write. I hope you are finding it pleasant to read! Please read and review, if you have the time to do so:)


	4. Basics

**Chapter Four**

* * *

Meiko woke up the next morning, to find herself still on the floor. However, there was a fresh cup of coffee next to her, so she began to drink it. Another blanket had also been neatly placed on top of her.

She turned her head to the side, but Luka was not in bed. Meiko could hear the sound of the shower.

Seeing as there was nothing to do for a while, she checked the time and drank her coffee. After a few minutes, the shower turned off, and somebody began to hum.

Well, Luka began to hum.

The pink haired woman then emerged from the bathroom, wrapped in a white towel.

"I knew the coffee would wake you up. But why on Earth were you sleeping on the floor?"

Meiko paused uncomfortably for a second. "I just rolled right off the bed, you see!"

"But…you must've been awake, seeing as you fetched a blanket for yourself." Luka looked disbelieving.

"When I realised I was on the, uh, floor, you were fast asleep. Getting back into bed would've woken you up. You seemed tired, too."

"Well…Thanks. That was kind of you." Luka began to smile at the brunette appreciatively before sitting down on the bed and opening her laptop. "Master called again. He told me to view the webpage again, when you were awake. We also have our first martial arts lesson at twelve, and the hotel breakfast is six until eleven."

"Sure," Meiko said, sitting next to Luka to view the laptop. "There, Luka, our articles are there. You've gone straight past them!" Meiko used her hand to softly guide Luka's finger. "Now, click." The instructions were followed.

"There's a video up."

"I can see that. Click on it!"

Once again, Luka obediently did as she was told. The video began to play, and immediately, both women realised what was going on. It had been edited so that the parts where they admitted mutual dislike for each other were nonexistent.

"Well," Luka commented, blushing a little. Her wrestling with Meiko was now on the Vocaloid official website. It had comments too; reblogs and shares also. "Why did I say bite me, of all things? So…improper." She rested her face is her hands shamefully for a moment. "Gosh."

Meiko rolled her eyes. She found it slightly amusing. Luka's casual side had been exposed, all thanks to her!

An evil laugh resounded in Meiko's head.

"Told you that Master was terrible. Absolute bastard," Meiko reminded. Seeing Luka's blush, she tried to be nice. She had promised Kaito after all. "Don't be embarrassed. Your fans will think this is adorable."

"I'm not adorable! I…I am supposed to be a lady! A professional lady."

The brunette began to laugh. Luka needed something sorting out in her head. "Keep telling yourself that. You're definitely the most innocent Vocaloid, despite the stupid Ice Queen persona."

"The 'Ice Queen persona', as you call it, happens to be my personality."

"Or lack of," Meiko retorted teasingly. "Anyway, you get dressed and I'll have a shower. Then we can call on Kaori, and have breakfast together. We should have forty minutes-ish spare, so you can read one of your books for a while or whatever. Then, we head to the lesson. Okay?"

Taken aback by Meiko's firm planning, Luka had no choice but to nod, and consequently follow the plan. It worked out exactly right.

After they were both showed, dressed and fed, Luka and Meiko went to knock on Kaori's door again and head off to their first lesson of martial arts.

"I hope, you're both looking forward to it," he chatted, walking in front of the two women. "It should be super fun! Super fun to film, too. HD lenses. All the action of you two, fighting head to head. Aw, man, this is gonna be great."

The two Vocaloids glanced at each other occasionally, amused by Kaori's babbling. Eventually, he led them inside the dojo, where they would be taking their lessons. After booking in, they were sent to a room, and inside were two very similar looking young women. They were both completely identical, except, one woman's black hair had green tips, whilst the other had blue. They were both slim and agile looking, with their hair tied in practical ponytails.

"I'm training Luka!"

"But I thought you wanted to-"

"No, no! You're better suited for Meiko!"

"I agree. I can imagine her being a similar fighter to myself," the woman with blue tipped hair said. Noticing the trio looking at her and the other woman inquisitively, she grinned in their direction. "Hello and welcome."

"Hello!" The woman with green tipped hair had noticed them too. "My name is Asa."

"And my name is Aya. We will be training you-"

"And we're identical twins!"

Aya closed her eyes for a moment, slightly annoyed by her sister's outburst. "Yes, Asa, I'm sure they noticed. As you may have heard, I will be training Meiko, and my sister here will be training with Luka."

"But before we can start training, it's best to have you both measured and weighed! That way, we can see who has natural advantage, and stuff."

Luka cringed visibly. Meiko picked up on this, but didn't comment. Their two personal trainers began the process.

"Okay, Luka," Asa said, smiling. "You're five foot four. I'm gonna weigh you now, but we'll keep that as secret information, uh-huh?"

"Miss Meiko," Aya said to her client. "Five foot three. A slight disadvantage, but I believe your fighting style will be…less reserved, than Luka over there."

"No being mean to my client, Aya! You'll knock her confidence before she starts!" Asa shouted over, shaking her head.

After the weighing had been done, Luka and Meiko changed into martial arts robes. Luka also tied her hair back away from her face.

It actually suited her rather nicely. The two Vocaloids separated with their respective trainers, to begin working on the basics.

Asa and Luka were in one corner, practising blocking. Luka had a determined expression on her face, and was listening to her teacher obediently.

Meiko and Aya, however, had gone straight into offensive fighting, and were practicing the front kick. After the two had practiced the one basic move for long enough, they switched. Kaori filmed it all, envisioning how his film masterpiece would eventually turn out to be.

* * *

After a few hours of various moves, and various slip, failures and other embarrassments, their lesson was over.

"We must keep practising the block, Meiko, or it'll be your downfall," Aya warned as the two women left.

"Luka, be aggressive! I want you to practise roaring or something, to get your inner killer out," Asa called, waving the three goodbye.

* * *

That evening, Meiko and Luka had decided to eat out. Since they were away, they might as well. They had invited Kaori to come along, but he told them that he was a 'man on a budget' and 'watching his waistline'. He did tell them to buy a cocktail or something, out of respect for his absence.

The two Vocaloids didn't go anywhere fancy to eat. They literally found the nearest and cheap looking restaurant they could find. It was pretty empty when they arrived, so they got service fast and were soon finished.

Outside the restaurant, it was cold. Silence would only add to the glum and chilly atmosphere.

"Did you enjoy the lesson today?"

"It was pleasant. Yes."

"Luka?"

"Hm?"

"Why _are_ you so cold to everybody? Because it seems you're actually not, deep down." It was a typical Meiko styled question. Much too blunt, and at a completely random time. The question had come much too soon.

"I can hardly help it. We are robots, and I was programmed this way. If I could alter myself, then perhaps I would," Luka replied hastily, looking focused on the route ahead. "If we are asking these sorts of questions, then let me ask you this. Why did you hate me so much, ever since you laid eyes on me?"

'_Oh no. I've triggered her defensive side,'_ Meiko's internal monologue whined. Although, she did feel kind of feel very slightly guilty.

Maybe she had misjudged Luka a teensy-weensy bit.

"I know I gave you a hard time, but look at this way: I hardly needed another pretty, talented female Vocaloid stealing anymore of my much needed thunder. You also didn't...well, you didn't seem like my type of person. But, I guess I was wrong. You've made me admit that I was wrong. I judged you too quickly and I was wrong, wrong, wrong."

Luka raised her eyebrow. "I see. The flattery was a nice touch, I must say."

"I didn't mean it like that!"

"So you don't think I'm pretty, talented and female?"

Meiko's eyebrows knitted together. What was she getting at here? "Don't fish for compliments. It doesn't suit you."

"It was worth a try."

Meiko wondered whether Luka's ego needed inflating, or whether it was already huge.

* * *

Once again, Meiko predicted another sleepless night. She had reminded Luka many times which side of the bed belonged to her.

But here she was, half one in the morning, browsing on Luka's laptop. Luka herself was curled next to her, breathing deeply.

The brunette decided to visit the Vocaloid site, to see whether any of the other pairs had any videos up. She missed the chaos of home.

The only other pair that seemed to have a video up were Gakupo and Rin, aka, Stray Girl and Samurai. Meiko pressed play.

"_Do you miss your brother, Rin?" Gakupo asked. The pair seemed to be sat on a hotel balcony._

"_..Yeah, I guess. Do you miss Gumi?"_

"_Sure. She's my little sister, after all!"_

"_You two seem really close," Rin noted. "It's weird, because you're both so different."_

"_But you and Len are complete opposites!"_

_Both Gakupo and Rin began to chuckle._

"_Nice dancing today, by the way. I don't think I'll ever catch up with your smooth moves!"_

_The purple haired man shook his head, smiling kindly. "Don't worry. We can always practise more. I could teach you, too! Gakupo to the rescue!" He did a goofy imitation of a superman pose, making Rin snort humorously. _

"_For such a formal guy, you're pretty funny."_

Meiko smiled fondly. Rin was a sweet kid. Now that she thought about it, Gakupo and Luka were kind of similar. She hadn't liked Gakupo at first, either. This made her wonder whether Luka found him interesting, or even recognised that they were alike. She'd have to ask her in the morning.

"Meiko, go to sleep," Luka suddenly murmured pleadingly, her head still lingering near Meiko's shoulder. Her voice was soft and breathy.

"Huh?" Meiko glanced downwards, unsure whether the blue eyed woman was awake or asleep. Had she been awake all this time? Did she realise how close she was? "Are you awake?" Meiko hissed. If Luka was awake, then she really needed a lesson about personal space.

Luka didn't reply, but her arm moved to drape around the brunette.

"Are you awake?" Meiko asked again, putting the laptop at the side of the bed. This was way too weird for her now.

She wished she had slept on the floor.

Stupid Luka.

* * *

**AN:** I have little to say about this chapter, but as usual, I hope you all enjoyed. Please do review, if you have the time! Also, thank you to the anonymous reviewers. It is appreciated!


	5. Not As They Appear

**Chapter Five**

* * *

Luka's eyes squinted as she awoke. Her eyesight was blurry, due to having just woken up. She felt very warm and cosy.

After a few seconds, her eyes adjusted. She looked around her, only to find that she, Luka Megurine, was curled around Meiko. Her arm was across the brunette protectively, and now that Luka thought about it, she must have been sleeping with her head in the crook of Meiko's neck.

Luka jerked away, staring curiously at the sleeping Vocaloid - who she had apparently been curled up to all night. Oh no! How embarrassing.

Then again, maybe she could get away with this. If she pretended like nothing had happened, then maybe it didn't. As long as Meiko didn't mention it, she was safe.

Luka decided to have a shower. That would make her feel less embarrassed. Wash it all away.

When Meiko woke up, the first thing she noticed was that Luka was no longer asleep next to her. The brunette didn't know whether this was a sad or happy thing. Luka must have discovered her night time habits by now.

Just like the morning before, Meiko could hear the shower going. She decided to wait around in bed until Luka came out. The shower stopped abruptly, and there came that sound of Luka humming. Meiko threw the covers over her head, deciding that ten more minutes of shut eye wouldn't be too bad.

The pink haired Vocaloid came out of the bathroom, wrapped in a towel, just like yesterday morning. She went over to Meiko, to check whether she was asleep or not.

She appeared to be sleeping.

Luka sighed a sigh of relief, before opening a drawer. She wriggled into a pair of underwear still with the towel wrapped around her.

But that was soon abandoned.

Meiko opened her eyes cautiously, because Luka had stopped humming. Luka was stood with her back facing the bed, wearing only one piece of underwear. Her wet hair had been tied up, and she was bent over a drawer, presumably searching for some other garments.

Although Meiko could not see anything too revealing, she swiftly shut her eyes. She had only seen Luka's bare back, after all. It had seemed very intimate, seeing as Luka was only wearing knickers. Her skin had been so flawlessly white; her underwear much too fancy and intricate to be seen by anyone who was not the woman's lover.

Soon enough, Luka was dressed, and she began to dry her hair. She turned when she heard Meiko stir in bed.

'_I hope she doesn't mention how I was sleeping,' _Luka thought. "Good morning, Meiko."

The brown eyed woman looked warm. Her cheeks were a little pink. "Good morning, Luka." She paused for a moment. Luka's breath caught in her throat with nerves. "Do you know Gakupo?"

"Sure," Luka replied, watching as Meiko stepped out of bed and turned on the kettle to make drinks.

"Do you like him?"

"I am sure he is nice enough." Luka was pleased that the conversation was about Gakupo, rather than her.

"No, but do you _like _like him? Do you think he's hot?"One coffee, one tea.

Luka shrugged. Why did Meiko want to know? "I can see why he fits the general idea of attractiveness, but he evokes no feelings in me."

The way Luka put it made Meiko laugh. "Do you not have feelings for anybody?"

The pink haired woman raised an eyebrow. Meiko was certainly curious today. Nosy, even. "How would I know? I have never been infatuated with anybody."

Meiko's laughter stopped short as she passed Luka a cup of tea and cupped her own mug of coffee. "You…You've never fallen in love with anybody?" She asked with a concerned look on her face. That concerned look made Luka worried. Was it unusual not to have fallen in love?

"Not that I know off. I don't know many men though."

"What? How many guys do you know?"

"Well, Gakupo, Kaito, Len and Kaori. Oh, and Master."

"Five? That's it?" Meiko asked in disbelief. "Have you never gotten butterflies, over anybody?"

Luka shook her head. "Luckily, no."

"Luckily? What the hell do you mean, luckily?"

"It just sounds time consuming and pointless," Luka replied, frowning. There was no need for Meiko to make her seem so weird. "Why? Who have you been in love with?"

"That's none of your business," Meiko said. "I was only asking because you and Gakupo are really alike. I didn't like him at first, either. You both seemed really…well, up yourselves, really. Very formal, too."

"Gee, thanks."

Meiko raised an eyebrow. "Don't go all sensitive on me now." For once, she actually meant it. She didn't want to hurt Luka's feelings. "You just seem like similar people."

"Because we're both snobs, right?"

"Don't be like that! I went through all this last night," Meiko whined. Luka's ice blue eyes caught her own, and suddenly, the memory of her naked back was flashing in Meiko's mind.

"Yet, you still manage to insult me." Luka looked at her friend shyly for a moment. "What does love actually feel like?" She blurted out.

The other Vocaloid raised an eyebrow. This was the kind of thing Luka worried about? So sensitive, naïve and innocent, despite the persona..

"Love is when you enjoy being with a person. You want to seem them all the time, and touch them and make them happy. You'll know it when you feel it," Meiko shrugged. Perhaps she had taken it for granted that feelings came so easily for her.

Luka nodded, before scrambling to her suitcase and pulling out a notepad and pen, almost knocking her tea over in the process. "Will you repeat that for me please?"

"You're so weird," Meiko snorted, before repeating what she had told Luka few seconds ago.

"Don't be so nasty!" Luka cried, looking hurt. "It is not my fault I am unaccustomed with these things."

The brunette shook her head. "You must have been attracted to someone, at some point. I swear. Is there not anybody you think is quite nice? Every girl has fantasies."

"I don't," Luka huffed, becoming irritated.

"But you must, Luka! Surely there is someone you want to hug and kiss and curl up next to."

Luka blushed furiously at the comment. Was Meiko hinting at her sleeping habits? "I did not mean to sleep like that, okay? If you are going to tease me for it, then you can sleep on the floor."

"I didn't mean that…"Meiko mumbled. "I know you didn't mean to sleep like that. Don't be stupid." However, it was too late. Meiko had accidentally upset Luka. She had a knack for it.

"So, I'm up myself, formal, and stupid. I like that you think so highly of me."

"You know I didn't mean it like that," Meiko complained. She was becoming annoyed herself. "You're being unfair."

"You judged me on first sight with no reason to. That is unfair."

"I thought this was behind us! We were becoming friends."

"That is what I thought, also."

* * *

At their martial arts session, Luka was still angry with Meiko. She had no right to tease her for not having crushes on people. Or because she liked to sleep next to people. That wasn't her fault.

Kaori seemed to pick up on the mood too. He talked to fill all the silences. At the dojo, Asa picked up on Luka's aggressive mood, and decided that this could really help her fight!

"Meiko, Luka, we think you should try a fight now. Not the real one, so don't go too hard on each other!"

"Work on your block," Aya said to Meiko.

"Roar, Luka, roar!" Asa commanded.

The two Vocaloids faced each other. Meiko was concerned that Luka looked angry. She hadn't meant to upset her. Then again, Meiko had this in the bag. She knew how to handle herself.

'_But I hurt her feelings,_' Meiko reminded herself, just as Asa shouted, "Go!"

Luka was going straight into the fight, kicking at Meiko. The brunette blocked her, quickly stepping backwards. Meiko began her own offensive routine of the kicks they had both been taught to do. Luka caught Meiko's foot, and was smirking at her cruelly. She pulled Meiko onto the ground, and stood over her dauntingly.

Meiko was definitely pissed now. She snatched at Luka's foot, and pulled her down with her. The fighting was becoming unorthodox.

"Hey, hey!" Aya called out. "Stop it!"

The lesson ended abruptly after Meiko and Luka were pulled apart from each other.

* * *

Luka skipped dinner that night. She didn't want anything. She felt unwell from all the embarrassment she had caused herself.

'_Kaori, Asa and Aya must think so lowly of me now. Meiko, too. Why did I get so angry at her?' _Rhetorical question. Luka had gotten angry because she wasn't used to dealing with people.

She had never met anybody like Meiko before.

"I'm so stupid," Luka muttered, before consequently beginning to cry. She was so bad with people. No wonder her fans called her an Ice Queen! Why couldn't Master have programmed her differently?

Hearing the door open, Luka hurriedly wiped her eyes. It was not enough to stop her crying.

Meiko had returned from dinner.

"I brought you some food," Meiko said softly, closing the hotel door. When she turned, Luka was staring at her with teary eyes, and a sad, red face. "Why are you crying?" The brunette sat on the edge of the bed cautiously, in case she did something wrong again.

Why couldn't Master have programmed her differently? She always said the wrong thing and upset people. No wonder she was an unpopular Vocaloid.

"I…I'm sorry for today," Luka said. Her voice was shuddery, as she was still crying. "I don't know why I got so angry w-with you, because that was unfair, a-and-" Before Luka could finish her sentence, she was wailing again, clutching at her face. So, Luka being an Ice Queen wasn't just not true, but it was completely wrong, really.

Meiko shook her head, venturing closer. "That wasn't your fault. We all know I'm kind of a douche bag," Meiko comforted, holding Luka's hand gently.

Her comment only made Luka cry harder. "B-But, you're not, and it's s-so unfair that people think y-you're like that."

"Fans don't know what we're like deep down." The brunette opened her arms, and Luka nodded, happily nestling within them.

"Sorry I'm such a…a vile cow," Luka muttered, enjoying the feeling of comfort she found in Meiko's arms. The brunette smelt of coffee, and warmth and soap.

"Don't be stupid." Meiko stroked Luka's hair, amazed by how silky it was. "It's just been one of those days."

Luka nodded, once again resting her head at Meiko's shoulder. "Thank you."

"For what?"

"Hugging me. I have never had that before."

* * *

**AN: **I hope you all enjoy this chapter. Out of interest, if I wrote a lemon for this couple, would you read it? Although, I might feel embarrassed writing something like a lemon..Or, it could occur in this story? Hm... If you have the time, please do review!


	6. First Taste Of Sake

**Chapter Six**

* * *

The week progressed in the normal fashion. Everyday the girls would go and train at the dojo, and slowly but surely, they were improving. They also visited the same cheap restaurant every night for dinner.

"Meiko, there are more videos," Luka said one night, referring to the Vocaloid webpage. Meiko sat down next to Luka.

"Play them then!" Meiko instructed. They hadn't checked the Vocaloid site for the past few days. The were four new videos, but one was just another edited one of Luka and Meiko themselves. Luka had groaned when she had seen it, as it had been her crying and Meiko comforting her. These videos were simply showing all her weaknesses.

The first new video was of Gumi and Kaito.

* * *

"_So, we have to paint this canvas, huh?__"__ Kaito asked with his hands on his hips, looking at the big, white canvas._

_Gumi laughed. __"__Yes, captain obvious. Anyway, I have great idea. Take off your scarf, and your coat.__"_

_The blue haired man raised an eyebrow, but did as he was told anyway. He was left in trousers and a plain shirt._

"_Okay, now you just need to take off your shoes. And your trousers. And your shirt,__"__ Gumi said, smiling mischievously. __"__I promise I won__'__t peak!__"_

"_But-__"_

"_No buts! This is art, Kaito.__"__ Gumi turned around and put her hands over her eyes. __"__Ready?__"_

"_One second!__"_

_There was a pause. __"__Ready now?__"_

_Kaito sighed. __"__Yes.__"_

_The green haired girl then proceeded to pick up a tub of blue paint. She took off the lid and poured the paint all over the floor. Kaito watched with a confused expression._

"_Lie down in the paint,__"__ Gumi instructed, before beginning to take off her jacket and skirt. She picked up the container of green paint, sloshed it all over the floor and lay down in it. Kaito was lying in his puddle of blue paint, grinning from ear to ear._

"_This is crazy. You__'__re crazy. And half naked. I told your brother I__'__d look after you!__"_

_Gumi began to smile. __"__Gakupo doesn__'__t realise, but I__'__m a big girl now. I can look after myself.__"_

_One they were both thoroughly covered in paint, they walked over to the blank canvas, leaving a trail of colour behind them._

"_Now, pose,__"__ Gumi beamed, pressing her back against the canvas with her arms stretched wide. Kaito did the same, but with his arms straight up in the air._

"_I see,__"__ Kaito said, standing back and admiring their work. __"__Silhouettes.__"_

_Gumi nodded. __"__Not finished though. Help me cover the silhouettes with tracing paper or something. Then we can use the other colours and flick them at the canvas without getting the silhouettes messy.__"_

_Kaito began to laugh. __"__This is great. We__'__re artists!__"__ He took his finger and dabbed it in the blue paint, before smearing it on Gumi__'__s cheek. The girl responded by putting both her palms in the green and pressing them against Kaito__'__s forehead._

_The pair came closer, still smiling, Gumi holding Kaito__'__s cheeks in her hands._

* * *

The video abruptly ended, seeming to have been cut short.

"How romantic," Luka murmured softly.

"Who would've thought? It looked like Kaito was on his way to getting some."

Luka glanced at Meiko. "Do you not mind? I thought you and Kaito were-"

"Common misconception," Meiko interrupted. "I think Master's plan was that we were to become a couple, and in the very beginning there was a time when it could have happened, I think. But there was never a spark. We're just best friends."

"I see." Luka looked thoughtful for a second. "I always thought you liked him but he was too goofy to realise."

"What the heck gave you that idea?"

Luka shrugged. "I just thought you liked him. Anyway, Miku and Len have a video up. Let's watch."

* * *

"_How are we fooling all these people?__"__ Len asked Miku. They were sat down on the floor, playing a board game._

"_No idea. Absolutely mental,__"__ Miku replied, focusing on the piece she was moving across the board. __"__How do you think the others are getting on?__"_

"_I think Rin will be enjoying the change. I do miss her though,__"__ Len said absently. __"__Gumi and Kaito will definitely get along. Meiko and Luka though?__"_

"_I think they__'__ll be okay.__"_

"_Really?__"_

"_Definitely.__"__ Miku looked up and smiled at Len cheerfully. __"__I win.__"_

"_Huh?__"__ Len glanced at the board with a frown on his face. __"__So you do.__"_

"_You know what?__"__ Miku said suddenly. __"__I__'__m glad we__'__re friends. Because we could be all competitive and stuff, but we__'__re friends. That__'__s nice.__"_

_Len nodded in agreement. __"__Yeah! I__'__ve always thought it__'__s nice how we__'__re like a family. You__'__re like a sister to me, Miku.__"_

"_And you__'__re my little brother!__"_

_The two began to laugh happily. The Vocaloid family was lovely._

* * *

After the video stopped, Meiko began to hound Luka on the Kaito topic once more.

"You thought I liked Kaito?" Why had Luka observed things like that when she had treated her so nastily?

"I am sorry if it has upset you, but yes. You just seemed to suit each other," Luka mumbled, beginning to feel embarrassed. "You know, for someone who is known for drinking sake, I have not seen you drinking any while we've been away."

"Nice topic change," Meiko laughed. "Would you like one? I just haven't drunk any around you. Far too innocent."

"I'm not that innocent!" Luka fumed. "Gimme a sake then. I can handle alcohol." Complete lie, for all Luka knew. She had never tried alcohol before. There had never been a reason to.

Meiko shrugged. "Fine, tough girl. Let me fetch them." The brunette went out of the hotel room, and returned quickly with four bottles. "Just in case you're man enough to handle another."

When Luka was handed the opened sake bottle, she sniffed at it cautiously and wrinkled her nose. It smelt strong. Meiko was staring at her, daring her to drink it.

"Have you ever had this stuff before?" Meiko asked, amused by Luka's antics.

"No."

Meiko could see right through Luka. "Have you tried any alcohol?"

The pink haired Vocaloid bit her lip, before taking a daring gulp of sake. "I have now." She then clicked on the last video, which was of Gakupo and Rin.

* * *

"_May I have this dance?__"__ Gakupo asked politely, wearing a black shirt and trousers. Rin was wearing a yellow dress, which suited her nicely._

_Rin grinned. __"__Of course.__"__ She took the man__'__s hand, and they began to dance slowly. After the music had finished, they sat down together, drinking tea._

"_You've improved. __We should continue dancing after this is over," Gakupo said. "I__'__ve never had a dance partner."_

_The blonde haired teen looked in his direction. __"__Someone like you has never had a dance partner?__"_

_He shook his head. __"__No. I__'__m rather the lone wolf. Ask Gumi.__"_

"_I will,__"__ Rin nodded. __"__I don__'__t see why though. You__'__re the best dancer I__'__ve ever seen.__"_

_Gakupo began to laugh. __"__That__'__s not hard when my only competition is Len and Kaito.__"_

"_You__'__re right. Neither Kaito or Len are dancers.__"_

"_I wonder why. Dancing is the manliest man thing one could ever do.__"_

"_You are a very manly man.__"_

"_Definitely. It__'__s the long hair, you see.__"_

"_Ah.__"_

_Rin smiled at Gakupo fondly, and Gakupo smiled right back._

"_So, you'll dance with me, when we return?"_

_"How could I say no?" Rin giggled girlishly. "Yes. Of course."_

* * *

"It seems she is infatuated with him," Luka said in a pitying tone, sipping away at her half empty sake.

"Aren't you?" Meiko teased.

Luka ignored the comment and continued to talk about Rin's situation. "I wonder whether he feels the same?"

"You're very interested in people's love lives, yet you apparently have none of your own."

"My love life is private."

"So, you do have one?"

"Not as of yet."

"Luka, you are coy about these things," Meiko commented, watching the woman drain away more of the alcohol. "I don't believe you, anyway. I think you definitely like somebody. It's in your eyes."

Meiko was bluffing, hoping that if she talked about the matter enough, Luka would reveal her true thoughts and feelings. Why she cared so much about it, Meiko didn't know.

"My eyes? I don't see why it matters so much. If I don't love anyone, I don't love anyone," Luka replied. She had decided to stop drinking now that she had finished one bottle. She felt a little woozy.

'_I__'__m a lightweight, aren__'__t I?__'_ Luka sighed. She glanced over at Meiko, and seemed to have a sudden and unexpected epiphany. Meiko was very attractive, and she had never even noticed before.

"You said you'd been in love before," Luka continued. "What was that all about?"

Meiko was laughing. After only one bottle, Luka looked like her head was up in the clouds. "Am I not allowed to love people? Or does my affection have to be geared towards you?"

"Oh, _definitely,_" Luka drawled, stretching. "Your eyes should linger on me always."

The brunette raised an eyebrow. Was this Luka's way of flirting?

'_No, I'm thinking too much into this. She's half drunk anyway,'_ Meiko reminded herself. "But your eyes are not always on me."

"Oh, they are."

"Luka, are you drunk?"

"Maybe just a little," Luka said, although, she didn't feel like a stereotypical drunk person yet. She didn't want to vomit and she could still coordinate her words.

"Are you flirting with me?" Meiko asked the question coolly.

Luka nodded. "Should I not be?"

"I don't mind," Meiko muttered. "It's your choice. You're the loveless one."

"I am not loveless!" Luka protested. Her arms were around Meiko's neck by this point, holding her closer. She was actually sat on Meiko's lap, which made the underwear incident flash in the brunette's mind. "I have friends."

"Who you love?"

"Yes, yes. I have you, don't I?" Luka's cheek brushed past Meiko's.

'_Maybe I shouldn't have given her the booze,'_ Meiko thought, although, the situation wasn't particularly unpleasant. "You know, usually the smaller person sits on the taller person."

Luka raised an eyebrow. "If that's how you prefer it," she remarked, beginning to slide off Meiko.

"No!" Meiko cried urgently, before blushing with embarrassment. "No. I mean, you're comfortable. You shouldn't have to move for me."

The pink haired Vocaloid smirked slyly. "Oh no. It's best to give you what to ask for." She sat down on the bed and patted her lap, smiling mischievously. "This was your point."

Meiko glanced over. "But…"

"But what? It's not like I'm asking you to…I don't know. Bathe me?"

"Thank God for that," Meiko replied hastily. She awkwardly placed herself upon Luka, amazed that the innocent and sensitive Luka Megurine had made her embarrassed and shy. If anybody else had told her to sit on their lap, she would've laughed and done it anyway.

"See? Not that bad, is it?" Luka's eyes were piercing, Meiko thought. "There was no need to be so reluctant."

"You do remember there's a camera in our room?"

"Splendid. I'll be able to get the tape." Luka was biting her lip. "Meiko?"

"Yes?"

"May I…?"

Meiko's heart was sprinting now. This was much too weird for her. "May you?"

The blue eyed Vocaloid shook her head, before gently pressing her lips against Meiko's cheek. "If I went straight for your lips, that could probably class as violation."

"Luka, are you feeling okay?"

"Wonderful."

Meiko waited until Luka had fallen asleep before wriggling off her lap. She took out her mobile phone and called Master.

"Meiko? What a nice change that you're calling me!"

"Yeah, yeah," Meiko grumbled. "Out of interest, was I not supposed to give Luka alcohol?"

"Why did you give Luka alcohol?"

"She wanted some!" Meiko said in a hushed tone. "Like I said: Was I not supposed to?"

Master shook his head. "Probably not. Meiko, I'm not sure if you realise, but you have a very high tolerance for alcohol - this was my planning. However, with Luka, I didn't think it'd be necessary to give her any resistance to alcohol."

"So?"

"So she gets drunk very, very easily. Due to her programming, which I call the 'Lady System' she might not show all the signs of being drunk. I thought this would be useful for maintaining her reputation in case she did end up enjoying alcohol. That sake you drink is really strong, y'know! How much did she drink?"

Meiko looked over to her sleeping companion. "A bottle?"

"No wonder she acted weird then. It's probably best to ignore whatever she did."

"Okay." The Vocaloid hung up abruptly. She didn't know how to feel at that moment.

* * *

**AN: **My updates may not be as constant from now on, as school begins again tomorrow. I hope you all liked this chapter. If you have the time, please review!


	7. Revelation

**Chapter Seven**

* * *

When Luka woke up the next morning, she noticed that her head ached a little. Not too badly though. She had experienced worse.

"So, sleeping beauty has awoken?"

Luka lifted her head as she heard Meiko's voice.

"Here." The brunette handed her a mug, which smelt strongly of coffee.

"I don't drink coffee."

"Yeah," Meiko scoffed. "Just like you don't drink alcohol, either." She put the cup on the bedside table next to Luka.

"I had forgotten about all that, actually," Luka muttered, sitting up and taking the cup of coffee into her hands. She sipped at it cautiously. It wasn't as bad as she expected, but that was only because Meiko had added milk and a lot of sugar. "You've reminded me."

Meiko hesitated for a moment. How much did Luka remember? She couldn't ask; that would make it too obvious that Luka had been acting strangely. "Yeah."

"Did you sleep okay last night?" Luka asked.

"Sure."

The pink haired Vocaloid frowned. "You seem tired." She offered the coffee to Meiko, seeing as she already felt very alert. The offer was declined.

"I've probably just been overdoing it," Meiko replied, forcing a weak smile on her face. She wanted to confront Luka about last night, but how could she? Drunk people do stupid things all the time!

Luka nodded. "I understand. It is out last day, so you're probably just worn out." Despite her words, Luka couldn't shake the anxious feeling that seemed to be creeping up on her. Meiko was never like this! The woman never tired!

"It gives you an advantage, anyway. If I'm like this when we fight, you'll have a better chance of winning."

"I suppose. But that doesn't matter. Winning doesn't matter."

Meiko glanced at Luka. "You don't mind at all?"

"Nope! It's been fun, hasn't it?" Luka pulled the bed covers away and stepped out of bed. She began to brush her pale pink hair, but was still looking at Meiko from the corner of her eye.

"Course."

* * *

At the time of twelve o' clock, the ladies and Kaori headed to the dojo.

"It's the final showdown!" Kaori laughed, looking between Meiko and Luka. "I bet Asa and Aya are totally psyched about this."

They reached their destination quickly. Honestly, Meiko wanted to get it over with. She didn't want to fight - especially not that day.

"Luka!" Asa yelped, as soon as the two Vocaloids stepped through the doors. "I hope you're mentally prepared for this, you little sissy!" The enthusiastic instructor had bought some wash-out pink hairspray, and was now sporting pink streaks through her hair. Her twin had down the same, except with red hairspray.

Aya smiled warmly at the pair. "You had better go get changed." When Luka and Meiko had left the room, she directed her attention towards Kaori. "Are you betting this time?" she sniggered.

"I only did that because Asa was betting too!" Kaori argued. "It didn't matter in the end, anyway. The just ended up brawling." He had been wondering how that event had occurred. From his knowledge, Luka wasn't one to lose her temper, and he didn't see Meiko as someone who would purposely make someone break.

"Do you think that'll happen again?" Asa questioned. Her voice was uncharacteristically serious. Before Aya or Kaori could respond, Meiko was plodding back into the room in the martial arts clothing. Luka followed a few seconds later, tying up her hair with an elastic bobble.

"Are you both ready?" Kaori was setting up the camera as he asked the question.

"Of course they're ready!" Asa had answered before either Luka or Meiko had had a chance. "Roar for me Luka! You a strong lioness, and you will discipline the scum that tries to duel you!"

Aya sighed. How were her and her sister related? Let alone twins, for goodness sakes. "Asa, calm down."

"You can't stop me now! I'm teaching her fighting talk! This is a practical skill for future life." Asa had her student by the shoulders, and was practically yelling despite how close they were. "Are you ready, Luka? I can't hear you!"

The pink haired Vocaloid was actually rather scared. "I'm ready."

"Say it with gusto! I've told you to be louder how many times now?"

"I'm ready!" Luka's false enthusiasm seemed to be suffice for her trainer. "Can't we just get this done with?"

"Get it done with?" Asa demanded. "This should be a milestone in your life! Luka, I'm afraid that your emotional training for this fight was simply not enough."

"I think we should just start," Meiko said flatly. This was enough to silence Asa. Meiko and Luka finally faced each other, stood on the blue mats that were used to fight on.

The match began languidly. Meiko wasn't up for a fight, and Luka could tell. The blue eyed Vocaloid sent a kick towards Meiko, but the brunette evaded the attack with ease. Meiko went for a half-hearted punch, but it was blocked easily.

From the sidelines, Aya, Asa and Kaori were cheering - Asa being the loudest.

"Meiko's not even trying," Kaori whispered to the two women beside him. Aya nodded, her eyes focused on her student.

"That's a shame. Meiko was a good student."

Where the actual fighting was going on, Luka was looking strangely at her friend. She was trying to show a look that said, 'What's up?' Something was most certainly wrong.

Meiko shook her head in response to Luka's concerned look.

"Just win this," the older Vocaloid mouthed. She watched as Luka's brow creased with confusion. However, as usual, Luka was obedient. She hesitated for a moment, closing her eyes for a second, before guiltily sending her foot into Meiko's hip area. Although Luka doubted, and hoped, that her one effective move had hurt that much, Meiko was knocked over.

The both of them, Luka and Meiko, looked over to the three spectators.

"I guess that's it then," Meiko hinted. "I only wish I could have done better." She was lying through her teeth. All that was on her mind was Luka. Although, she had decided that morning that she wouldn't think about her.

'_What an anticlimax to the week_,' Asa thought to herself, before grinning. At least it had been her student that had won. "I knew you could do it, Luka! Let's take a photograph together! We can frame it on the wall. One with you and me that says winners, and one with Aya and Meiko that says losers!"

"Don't push it," Aya snarled. Kaori took the photographs anyway, and requested that one was taken of him, Luka and Meiko. They would be parting soon enough. In fact, they were catching a train together at four o' clock.

* * *

Later that afternoon, Meiko, Luka and Kaori boarded the train. Luka fretted that she had left something behind. Meiko knew she'd left something behind - two sake bottles that she could have found good use for. However, apart from those minor concerns, everything was going swell.

About three quarters of the way through the journey, Kaori stood up and said it was his stop.

"I have some work down this end," he explained apologetically. "Sorry I didn't mention it earlier. It's been really nice spending time with you both!"

Luka and Kaori quickly exchanged email addresses, in hope that they could all stay in touch. He rushed off the train and when the train left the stop, he was there on the platform, waving goodbye with a broad grin on his face.

"You've seemed pretty down today," Luka remarked, making eye contact with Meiko. "Are you alright?" Her voice was as gentle as a languid tide lapping against a sandy beach.

"How much do you remember of last night?" Meiko asked bluntly.

Luka thought for a moment. "I can remember us watching those videos, I guess. We were talking about Kaito, weren't we?"

"Is that it?"

"That's all I can recall," Luka admitted. She thought back to when she was first made, and how Master had told her about all the equipment and software she had. He'd spent about two minutes talking about 'The Lady System'. She had forgotten about it for a while, seeing as she had never had an opportunity it to try it out. "I get drunk super easily though."

"Uh-huh. I called Master aft wards. Heard all about that 'Lady System' you got going."

Luka smiled uneasily. "I was that bad that you called Master for guidance?"

"You were acting quite…out of character," Meiko said, flushing as she remembered the details.

This made Luka even more nervous. "You must tell me what I did now. Then I can apologise."

Meiko squirmed in her seat. "You were just flirting a lot." Heat rushed to Luka's cheeks. "You just kind of, found your way on to my lap and then you told me to sit on your's. You kissed my cheek, saying how anything more would be violation. Then you fell asleep."

An elderly man near them turned in their direction for a brief moment.

Luka was redder than she'd ever been in her life. "I…I never realised alcohol had that kind of effect…" The poor woman was lost for words. "I'm so sorry. I would never mean to.."

"It's okay," Meiko reassured. "It wasn't too bad." She could see Luka was freaking out.

'_I knew I shouldn't have told her.' _

'_How could I have embarrassed myself in front of Meiko like that? She'll think I'm some kind of whore now! She's looking at me with those big brown eyes of hers and I might just die. Right here. On the train. Oh no.'_

"Luka?"

"Sorry, what?"

Meiko smiled fondly at her. "Stop worrying." She patted the other Vocaloid's hand comfortingly. Her touch ignited fire, somewhere within Luka.

"But you must think so badly of me now. And Master will be laughing so much at our expense," Luka sighed. She felt like she might cry, to be honest.

"I don't think badly of you. I just think you're very heavily infatuated with me." Meiko was only joking around, but Luka's reaction seemed very serious. She rested her head in her hands before running her fingers through her hair. After that, she promptly stood up.

"Sorry. If you'll please excuse me for a moment." Before a response could be made, she headed off to the toilets. She locked herself in hastily, and rested against the door. It was all going wrong. Wrong, wrong, wrong. Could she stay there for the remainder of the journey? Probably not. That would be rude.

Luka splashed some water on her face. So, maybe things had gone badly? Her and Meiko were friends. It would be fine.

'_You don't believe that for one minute, you stupid, stupid person.'_

After another two minutes or so, Luka forced herself to exit the toilet.

'_I am an Ice Queen. I am an Ice Queen. Things don't bother me. I laugh in the face of embarrassment. I am an Ice Queen. I am reticent.'_ The statements were false, but they gave Luka a little more courage. She sat down opposite Meiko, and met her gaze bravely. Inside, she was curling up tightly, wanting for everything to be over.

'_I'll have to speak, before she mentions it,'_ Luka thought. "It's our stop soon." She checked her watch. Six minutes. Only six minutes and then she was free. She would be back in her hometown.

Meiko looked upwards, looking uneasy. "Luka," she began

"Don't."

"We can't just-"

"I refuse to talk about the situation at this current point in time," Luka said stubbornly. Her pretty face had somehow morphed into a scowl. Inside, however, she was already blubbering.

The pink haired Vocaloid took a book out of her handbag and tried to read. She couldn't concentrate.

After what seemed like an eternity, the train finally arrived at their stop. The two Vocaloids gathered their belongings, and they were soon off the train. Only a few other people had gotten off at the stop.

Luka began to walk off, hastily. She was being rude but she just couldn't deal with this.

'_Absolute cowardice,'_ she scolded herself mentally.

"Luka, wait!" Meiko was hurrying, trying to catch up. Luka stopped, but didn't turn. "We can get a taxi. There's no need to rush."

"I would prefer to walk."

"I know you're angry and upset with yourself, but, there's really no need to be. If you'd just listen-"

Luka turned, and glanced at Meiko. "Leave me be for a little bit. Just…leave me alone."

* * *

**AN: **I must say, I'm sorry if the way I refer to Luka and Meiko becomes a bit repetitive. If you have time, please review!

To LukaFan: There isn't actually an official height or weight for MEIKO, so I went off of Meiko Sakine's height. School definitely can be evil, but I'm sure I will cope! Thank you for your kind reviews!


	8. Affection

**Chapter Eight**

* * *

When Meiko arrived back at the house, she realised that everybody - not including Luka - was home. As soon as she stepped through the door, there were cheers of welcome. It seemed that everybody had missed one another.

Kaito was the first to notice. "Where's Luka? We all guessed you guys would come home together." Gumi was close by, nodding. Her grassy hair nodded with her, falling in front of her eyes.

"She took a detour," Meiko answered vaguely. Her eyes skimmed over everybody briefly, and it was then that she noticed Master, lurking in the corner of the room. "What're you doing here?"

They all turned to look at Master. Nobody had actually asked what he was doing at the Vocaloid house. They'd just accepted his presence. "I wanted to know whether my plan worked. To raise harmony. But it seems Luka's not back yet?" He gave Meiko a knowing look, before smiling. "I'm sure she'll return soon."

Meiko scowled back at him.

Just five minutes after, Luka did return. The front door had opened, and there she was. When she realised she was the last home, Luka apologised hastily for being such a bother.

"Why did you two not come home together?" Gakupo asked casually, looking upwards from the article Rin was showing him in a magazine.

Luka smiled sweetly. She looked worn out. "I needed to restock on some things after being away. I think I mentioned it to Meiko." The said woman glanced at Luka, mumbling something incomprehensible.

"We're all glad your home. Don't sweat it," Master said, pressing something into Luka's hands. It was a crumpled piece of paper, with the words, 'Talk to Meiko' written on it in big, scrawled handwriting. Luka hastily put the note away after reading it. Master didn't like to see his Vocaloids stressed out. Especially when there was romance involved. "Anyway, let's all sit down. Discuss the week. Gakupo and Rin. How are you feeling?"

"Gakupo's great."

"Rin's definitely a star."

The pair beamed at each other. "We came second in the dancing, by the way! In case you haven't been checking the Vocaloid site," Rin announced proudly. The pair were congratulated, and Gakupo teased good naturedly by Kaito and Len for his so called 'masculinity'.

When the chatting and teasing was done, the room quietened. "Miku and Len?"

They both commented on how they felt closer than before, and how they were amazed that so many people fell for their pointless trickery.

"Gumi and Kaito?"

Gumi coughed. "Well, if you've been watching the videos, I think it's pretty obvious." Her brother raised an eyebrow in question. He must have missed a video. "Don't give me that look, brother! What's up?"

"I don't know what you mean," Gakupo said. He then turned to Kaito. "I also liked how you were both half naked so quickly."

"She was giving me the orders!" Kaito cried.

"And that'll continue," Gumi laughed. "Gakupo, me and Kaito are kind of a couple."

"Kind of?" It seemed that he was oblivious to romance.

"A couple." Gumi finished. She patted her brother's hand comfortingly. "Don't worry. You and Kaito are buddies, right?"

Gakupo nodded. "Yes, of course. I just don't know whether that's a positive or a negative." Gumi's face fell, and Gakupo began to chuckle. "I'm kidding. But that doesn't mean I won't be looking out for you. Got it, Kaito?"

"Sir, yes sir!"

Master smiled approvingly. "Good for you two. Maybe I can organise some duets…" He seemed to disconnect with the group and pull back into his own mind, probably thinking about all the opportunities and possibilities he now had with Kaito and Gumi being an item. The man then shook his head, coming back into reality. "Luka? Meiko?"

The pair were hesitant to reply. The group was looking at them, waiting with anticipation.

"I'm fond of her," Luka said finally. She spoke coolly, but her words were chosen carefully.

Meiko nodded in cautious agreement. "What she said."

The other Vocaloids were overjoyed. No more arguments! There was chatter around the table for a few minutes, before Master said that he was going to stay for a while, but the Vocaloids were dismissed. Meiko went to sit outside in the garden for a while.

Doing as Master had asked, Luka followed.

Meiko was sat on the step of the door, looking up at the night sky nonchalantly.

"Meiko," Luka said, sitting down next to her. "I overreacted. Sorry." She had embarrassed herself far too much today.

The other Vocaloid nodded. "You did overreact. It's okay though. I get the impression you're not used to dealing with these things."

'_I'm not used to dealing with these things,'_ Meiko thought to herself. _'Who would've thought I'd ever be attracted to you, of all people?'_ It had started that day, when Luka was getting changed. Meiko couldn't deny it. That event had changed her thinking, for one reason or another.

And then she had noticed that Luka was actually sweet. She was kind. The pink haired Vocaloid, curled by her side every night. It turned out Luka was sensitive, too. Innocent and witty.

But then Meiko had given her that alcohol. What had happened last night had just confirmed the inevitable. Meiko liked Luka.

Luka who she used to hate.

_Luka._

"I don't expect you to forgive me straight away. Don't worry," Luka explained hurriedly. "Be angry for as long as you want. I've been troublesome for you this past week."

'_Be angry as long as you come back, Meiko'_ Luka's internal monologue reminded.

The brunette shrugged, eyeing the ground. "I'm not angry. Like I said on the train: You're not listening." Meiko looked up, meeting Luka's bright eyes. "I was never angry with you. You were angry with yourself. I don't think badly of you. What you did last night was a drunken incident. Forget about it."

The pink haired Vocaloid smiled uneasily, distracting herself by looking up at the stars. "I quite like you, actually." Such blunt words for such an intense first attraction.

'_So, I admitted it. These weird…feelings. Unrecognisable feelings. I have no data that is compatible to these emotions.'_

Meiko's hand, holding firmly onto Luka's jaw and turning the woman's head so that she faced her. "You mean that?"

"Yes." Luka nodded. Meiko had gotten her message loud and clear. Not just, I like you. I _like _like you.

The brown eyed woman was unsure of what to do for a moment. Luka liked her. Meiko liked Luka.

Meiko leant over, and kissed Luka's lips gently. It was the most timid kiss Meiko had ever given.

"My first," Luka commented. Her heart was pounding at a speed she didn't think was possible. But things were going right for a change. Things were turning out okay. She shuffled closer to Meiko, feeling that this was acceptable to do. "Would you like to do something tomorrow? I mean…Unless you're sick of me already, after that week of martial arts."

Meiko laughed. "Don't be stupid. I'll spend the day with you." She watched Luka carefully, who already seemed to be thinking about the next day. Planning.

"Good. _Good._"

"On one condition."

Luka's heart dropped. "What?"

"No martial arts, no dojos, and nobody else invited."

"Fine. Have it your way." Luka smiled from ear to ear. Perhaps feelings weren't that bad after all.

* * *

**AN: **Hooray for the people who are reading this, because I personally believe MeikoxLuka to be a seriously under-loved pairing. Please review if you have time! Also, my apologies for my typos and such. A Beta would probably be beneficial..

To LukaFan: Normal MEIKO probably suits being taller, but hey-ho! :') Feel free to suggest things. It's cool! Anyway, hope this cleared things up for you. Thank you for the review.


	9. First Date

**Chapter Nine**

* * *

"I thought I'd let you sleep."

Meiko was awoken by the soft voice of Luka. The pink haired woman was leaning against Meiko's bedroom door, watching her with an amused smile. Looking downwards, the brown-haired Vocaloid realised she was lying on top of her duvet, in bed. The pyjama shorts she was wearing were covered in an embarrassing duck print - much like pyjamas of a small child.

"Did I oversleep that long?" Meiko asked, sitting up and tussling her hair. "You could've woken me up, you know!"

Luka simply laughed, taking a seat in Meiko's bedroom. The whole room was themed red, as any Vocaloid fan may have guessed. Meiko's bed was pushed against the right hand wall, and next to the bed was a cosy chair. The chair was near to a small desk, although, the desk was so cluttered that there was no way that Meiko could use it.

"I couldn't bear to wake you up," Luka responded mildly, smiling to herself. "How could I? You're rather adorable asleep - less volatile than when you're awake."

"Whatever," Meiko snorted. "Are you taking me out or not?"

Luka nodded.

"I'll get dressed, and then you can take me out. This better be good, Luka Megurine! I've heard about your vast organisation skills, and I'm very much looking forward to testing them."

Meiko shooed Luka out of the room and then began to get changed. She dressed in a casual and loose patterned red dress and an old cardigan. She also washed her face, brushed her teeth, applied perfume and even added some makeup.

When Meiko found Luka downstairs, she saw that her date for the day had also changed from her usual Vocaloid outfit. Luka was wearing light blue jeans and a green sweater; her blushing pink hair tickling her waist.

"You're looking very academic," Meiko remarked, noticing Luka's outfit change.

Luka shrugged in response. "I just like these types of clothes. They're comfortable, and you can just…put them on." She then picked up a bag and slung it over her shoulder, eyeing Meiko for a second before heading towards the door. "I hope you know I've never planned a date before."

The brunette followed, wondering where they were going for the day. "Yeah. But I know that you're good with organisation, and stuff. There's no need to doubt yourself."

"You have overestimated my abilities, Meiko," Luka replied, smiling mischievously. "I may be good at planning practical things, but you seem to have forgotten that I've never even been on a date. I don't know what you're supposed to do on them. I don't know what someone like _you_ would like to do on a date."

'_Someone like me?'_ Meiko thought to herself. '_Am I my own unique species or something?'_ "Tell me what you've got planned then, Luka."

The said woman began to smile sheepishly, scratching the back of neck as she led Meiko down the street. "I just thought we could…chill out, and, you know, do date-y stuff. Like...Buy ice cream? I did research this last night, because I didn't want to disappoint you…" Luka was blushing slightly, embarrassed by her own words. "I'm quite lame."

Meiko began to chuckle to herself, amused by Luka's eager to please attitude. "Chill out, Luka. If you want to go and buy ice cream, then let's do it. It doesn't really matter what you're doing on the date - it's the person you spend it with that matters." Meiko then grinned cheerfully, watching Luka relax.

"Okay. Okay then." Luka's voice had filled with newfound confidence. "We're going to buy ice cream. And you're going to damn well like it!" She grabbed Meiko's hand firmly, urging her to hurry up.

Meiko could not stop laughing.

* * *

After ordering their ice creams - coconut for Luka and chocolate for Meiko - the two ladies walked to the park and sat down on a bench.

"Luka."

"Hm?"

"Your nose…"

Luka 's eyes crossed for a second, as she looked down at her nose. "What's wrong with my nose?" Meiko was laughing about her nose, for some odd reason.

"You…" Meiko bit her bottom lip, trying to suppress another wave of laughter. "There's coconut ice cream on your nose."

The blue-eyed Vocaloid frowned, rubbing at her nose. "Why didn't you tell me earlier? Have I been walking around like this for a while? Meiko!"

Meiko just couldn't help it. She was laughing too hard. Fortunately, Luka was smiling too, although, there was a sneaky glint in her glacier-like eyes.

"Meiko."

"Y-Yes?"

"I'm going to give you three seconds. After that, I am providing no mercy." She took the last bite of ice cream, and dabbed at her mouth delicately with a napkin. "You'd better run."

"Are you kidding?" Meiko's eyebrows had raised by themselves.

"One."

"Luka, don't be reckless!"

"Two."

Meiko knew that this was her last chance. She flew right off the bench, dashing into the grassy park. She heard a shout behind her that sounded something like: "I'll get you, Meiko!"

The pink haired woman was dashing behind Meiko, reaching out her hand to try and grab hold of her. They were acting like small children, and gaining a few odd glances, but they didn't care.

It was just too fun.

For a second, Meiko thought she had reached safe territory. She had ran down past the children's play area and was currently sprinting across a grassy area, used for football and other games. She had planned to nip into a woody part of the park, hoping that she could hide from Luka's wrath there.

Unfortunately, however, the grass was shining with dew. Meiko lost her footing and slipped messily along her belly. She hastily tried to regain her prowess; she was flailing in the grass, attempting to stand up.

And then she felt the hand on hers.

"I win," Luka declared softly. She put her bag down on the grass and sat on it, next to Meiko. "But are you okay?"

Meiko looked up at Luka, her mouth curving. Both her forearms had smears of mud across them. "I'm fine. You told me you won't show mercy, and you didn't."

"I never do." Luka's eyes trailed down Meiko's dress.

'_Why is she giving me that look?' _Meiko asked herself internally, pulling herself into a sitting position. "What?"

"Your dress. I wanted to make sure it wasn't ruined. It's very pretty."

"It'll take more than a game of chase to ruin my clothing," Meiko joked, stretching her legs out in front of her and leaning back on her arms. "I'm not as careful as you with my items."

"How would you know whether I'm careful with my items or not?" Luka raised an eyebrow.

The brown-eyed Vocaloid shrugged casually. "Whilst we were staying away for that martial arts stuff, you always checked that you had everything you'd brought with you, every night. Double checked, too."

'_She noticed me doing that? I thought she was asleep!' _"That's very observant of you," Luka complimented. "But, although I'm more careful than you, you're more outgoing. In a good way. People like you instantly."

"You didn't," Meiko said, once again biting her lip. This time, the feeling was guilt.

"I never disliked you, as such," Luka protested. Her eyebrows had knitted together. "You obviously had an issue with me. That's not such a big deal." She then sighed and patted Meiko's hands. "There's no need to keep bringing it up though. That's in the past. Over. Done with. Finished."

Meiko's fingers curled around Luka's hand. The feeling was pleasant. Luka's skin was so soft and comforting. In fact, Luka was just comforting in general.

"You know, I could make you dinner tonight," Meiko suggested. She glanced at Luka, who seemed to have disappeared into her thoughts for a moment.

Luka grinned, her eyes trailing towards the ground. "Meiko, are you sure you know how to cook?" The blue-eyed Vocaloid had become accustomed to cooking meals in the Vocaloid household. It was difficult, as nearly everyone in the house had a different taste. Kaito was addicted to sweetness. Rin adored spicy food, whereas Len liked savoury flavours. Miku enjoyed creamy food that was rich and generally calorific.

Meiko was the easiest to please with food. She enjoyed wholesome food that embodied a variety of flavours. Luka had in fact been looking forward to cooking things for her.

"That's a little cheeky," Meiko scolded. "You have no idea about the extent of my talents."

"Fine," Luka replied. "It's a challenge. You can cook me dinner."

* * *

'_Why did I ever suggest this? A burnt meal isn't going to impress her.'_

Meiko was panicking. She had bought the ingredients she needed to make the meal quite well. She had weighed it all out, and printed a recipe to follow.

But somehow, everything was going wrong.

The sauce she was making was bubbling over viciously. She had put sugar over the fish, instead of salt. To top it all off, she had a feeling that the rice was going to burn.

"What are you doing in the kitchen?" Kaito had wandered in, looking for ice cream, probably. "And what the heck is going on with that…stuff?"

"It's my sauce, Kaito," Meiko replied, scratching her head and wondering what to do.

The blue haired man looked over the kitchen. "Luka's the best cook. You should ask her for help, now that you're both buddies."

Meiko grimaced. "I can't ask her for help."

"Why not?"

"Because." She couldn't ask the person she was trying to impress for help. That was just plain stupid.

Stupid Kaito.

"Whatever," Kaito said. He had found his ice cream supply. If Meiko wanted to make a mess of the kitchen, that was fine with him - as long as she cleaned it up. He let himself out of the stuffy room, leaving Meiko to do whatever she wanted.

"How do people cook everyday?" Meiko asked herself. She'd have to cook two different pieces of fish now, seeing as she had practically poured sugar all over the first one. And the sauce! The sauce was spilling down the pot it was cooking in now. Why was it doing that? What was going on?

She needed a drink.

"Meiko?"

"What?" Meiko barked sharply, only to turn around and find that it was Luka who was peeking through the kitchen door. "It's you! I'm sorry, I thought it was somebody who would irritate me."

Luka smiled warmly. "You seem a little stressed. Will you allow me to assist?"

A war raged within Meiko. If she said yes, then it would really embarrass her pride. If she said no, they would both have to starve, or order take-out. Then again, would Luka even agree to take out, after she had agreed to cook her a meal?

Meiko closed her eyes for a second, before looking at her feet. "Yes please."

Luka entered the kitchen swiftly. A determined and dominant aura seemed to surround her as she assessed the situation, tying up her pink locks. The kitchen was her domain; the place where she beat all the other Vocaloids by miles.

"We'll just take that sauce off the heat," Luka said, only half talking to Meiko. "Will you wash that fish? Although sugar is often a helpful addition, I don't think you should put it on tuna." She paused for a moment, putting the vegetables on a plate. "We can put these in the microwave, later. I'm glad you remembered tuna is my favourite. That's kind of you."

"I couldn't even make you one lousy meal," Meiko sighed, watching Luka clear up her mini disaster. "That's silly. A Vocaloid of my age, not being able to make a meal for somebody."

Luka stopped what she was doing to approach Meiko. She held the brunette's cheeks in her hands. "You mustn't be so hard on yourself. The thought counts a lot too, you know. And anyway, you're exaggerating. You're mistakes weren't all that big." She then turned away, to season the fish, leaving Meiko blushing happily.

Maybe all the mistakes had been worth it, for that.

After another half an hour, Meiko and Luka sat down together, eating their meal. Fortunately, the other Vocaloids had busied themselves with other things, so Luka and Meiko were left alone.

"Where did you even learn to cook?" Meiko asked after a while. The food tasted so good.

Luka shrugged modestly. "Master probably just slipped in a program or something. I did a cooking course too, when I first came here."

"Why'd you do that? Weren't you really busy, with all your first songs and videos and things?" Meiko remembered Luka's first week very clearly. Luka had arrived on their doorstep, wearing her usual Vocaloid outfit. She was shy and reserved, talking so formally that Rin and Len dubbed her as, 'Queen Victoria'.

Where they got that nickname from, the rest of the family had no idea.

However, whilst the other Vocaloids got to know Luka, Meiko stayed away. Instead of creating new female Vocaloids, why didn't Master improve her already? Promote her, for a change.

And so, in Meiko's eyes, Luka remained a through and through 'Queen Victoria'.

Although, it turned out Luka was actually quite lovely, after all.

"I was busy," Luka said. "I had songs to sing, and interviews to give, and pictures to shoot. I was feeling lonely, so I took a night class. I wanted to be able to cook my own meals so that I didn't have to depend on another Vocaloid doing it for me. Have you never though of pursuing an interest outside of singing?"

"I have an interest in alcohol."

Luka smiled. "Doesn't count. There must be something else you're interested in. There must be something more." Her vivid blue eyes were searching Meiko for answers.

Suddenly thrust into the spotlight, Meiko was at a loss for words. What did she like, apart from singing, and drinking? "I have my own interests! Of course I do."

"Such as?"

"Musical instruments. And food. And movies." Meiko could practically see Luka making mental notes in her mind. "And what do you like, apart from cooking and singing?"

"Flowers, and books."

"Are you interested in me then, Luka?"

Luka thought about it for a moment. "That was outright flirting."

"Do you not like me flirting with you?" Meiko was suddenly panicked. Luka hadn't done this kind of thing before! She was probably freaking her out!

Luka rose from the table, and began to leave the room. On the way out, she stopped by Meiko and put her hands over the brown-eyed Vocaloid's jaw, turning Meiko's head so that she faced her.

"I think you know I love it," Luka replied. Her eyes gleamed with mischievousness. "You'll have to show me the ropes though, seeing as I'm so innocent."

Meiko laughed. "Don't be such a whore, Luka," she joked, watching Luka turn her face away as she broke down into giggles. "It doesn't quite suit you."

Still laughing, Luka nodded. "A girl has to try."

* * *

**AN: **I could possibly be a little rusty on fluff...Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. If you have time, please review. :)


	10. Are You Ashamed?

**Chapter Ten**

* * *

Her blue eyes skimmed over the sheet music curiously. "It's good we get to a duet together," Luka said. "That'll be nice."

Gakupo looked upwards. He had been thinking hard about the music in front of him, trying to figure out what it would sound like, and how he could understand the character that sung the lyrics. "Yes," he agreed. "I've heard you've got a good voice, but I've never heard you sing."

From a little way off, Master and Meiko were watching the two interact.

"They're so stiff with each other," Meiko whined, turning to Master and pulling a face. "I still don't see why they even have to do a duet with each other when you know about our relationship."

The man focused on Gakupo and Luka before turning to the complaining brunette. "You're right. They are stiff with each other, and that's exactly why they need to sing together." A little smile appeared on Master's face. "A lot of the fans put them together romantically, too. This song will be very popular, and good for business."

Meiko grimaced, pretending to vomit before speaking. "The fans are idiots, if they think that. Luka belongs to me, and me only," she said, with a pout.

"Unlike a vase, or any other sort of item, I belong to nobody but myself," Luka remarked casually, walking past Master and Meiko to fetch a drink of water. "I should have known you'd be the jealous type."

The observation made Meiko flush. "I'm not jealous!" she argued, watching Luka turn and meeting her eye line. "I just think if you must be doing a duet with anybody, you should be doing it with me. If you should are being…'romantically paired' with somebody, you should be romantically paired with me. That's all."

Luka began to smile. Her and Meiko had been dating for a while now, but they still learnt more about each other all the time. The pink haired woman wrapped one arm around her girlfriend loosely and sighed happily. "Okay. I get it."

Being in love was nice.

"You know, Meiko," Master said, after the two women had separated. "Seeing as you haven't told anybody apart from me about this relationship, you can hardly complain about Luka doing duets with other people. It doesn't seem like Gakupo has any romantic interest in Luka anyway."

"I'd better get back to Gakupo, anyway," Luka said suddenly, excusing herself. Master raised an eyebrow, but didn't ask.

The brown eyed Vocaloid frowned. "She's anxious about people knowing. About us, I mean. Not this stupid duet."

Master looked away from Meiko, and watched Gakupo and Luka practicing their song together. They were facing each other, concentrating hard with their eyes closed. As the climax of the verse came, Luka had to hit a note that was an octave above Gakupo's. "What do you expect? Luka isn't good with her feelings. I don't think she likes people knowing she has them."

As the pink haired Vocaloid tried to hit the note, her voice cracked horribly. For a fleeting second, there was look of utter dismay upon her face, but as Gakupo went to reassure her, her face went completely neutral.

"My apologies, Gakupo," Luka muttered. "I'll try harder next time."

Gakupo tried to touch her hand comfortingly, but Luka crossed her arms and hid her hands. "It's okay, Luka. If it's too high for you, the music can always be taken down a little. It's not a problem."

The pink haired woman shook her head stubbornly. "It won't need to be altered. Just give me some time to practice."

Back where Meiko and Master were standing, Meiko couldn't help but feel disappointed. Luka was using that tone of voice again: the one that made everybody assume she was cold hearted and cruel. She wasn't like that at all.

The brunette woman glanced to Master. "Did you make her like this on purpose?"

Master began to smile, very slightly. "You can't blame me for everything."

The comment set Meiko off. Her fiery temper was unleashed. "I didn't mean it like that! Don't be so stupid. She is the way she is and that's fine. I was just wondering, you moron." Her voice had escalated, as she had forgotten her surroundings completely.

Meiko walked off, not giving Master a chance to reply, and muttering things to herself. Luka watched. Both her and Gakupo had turned to see what the commotion was about.

Luka supposed that Master and Meiko had been discussing her.

* * *

When Meiko arrived home, the house was quiet. Kaito and Gumi were on a date; Gakupo and Luka were at the studio; Len had gone to buy a new video game, and Miku was at a photo shoot.

"Meiko?"

The said woman turned, and followed the voice. Rin was in the kitchen, painting her nails the usual sunny yellow colour. "Did you visit Gakupo and Luka at the studio?" She asked, still concentrating on her nails. The girl quickly finished her thumb nail, and focused her interest on Meiko.

"I did."

"Did they sound good?"

"Course they did."

Rin seemed to frown a little, as if the idea that Gakupo and Luka would sound good together was distasteful or unpleasant. "I wish I could do a duet with somebody."

The older Vocaloid was confused. "What're you going on about? You sing with Len all the time."

The teenager rolled her eyes, and went back to painting her nails. "Singing with Len all the time is boring. I deserve a duet with somebody interesting."

"Such as Gakupo?" Meiko couldn't help but feel uneasy. If Rin had a crush on Gakupo, but he didn't feel the same, it could make things awkward. Especially if she took her feelings very seriously.

"Yeah. Like Gakupo. Luka always gets to do duets with all sorts of people, but I'm just suck with Len. That's so unfair."

Meiko couldn't help but feel irritated by Rin's comment. "Luka has to do a lot of duets with Miku. Maybe they get bored of each other."

"Luka does duets with Gakupo, and Kaito and pretty much everybody else, too. I don't. I deserve the chance to collaborate too," Rin protested. She had finished her right hand now.

"If you don't like the arrangements, you'll have to take that up with Master," Meiko snapped, walking over to the fridge and taking out a bottle of juice. "It's not Luka's fault, is it?"

Rin blinked, looking up in surprise. "Who put you in a bad mood? Geez, Meiko, chill out."

"Don't insult my girlfriend then," Meiko mumbled under her breath, pouring the juice into her glass. Rin's eyebrows furrowed, wondering whether she had heard what she had thought she had heard.

She'd just have to ask Kaito, later. He was Meiko's best friend, after all. He would know.

* * *

After working all day on the duet, Luka was exhausted. Meiko had left the studio after snapping at Master, and Luka had been thinking about it for most of the day.

'_I'll have to ask her about it,'_ Luka thought. _'Then I can sleep.'_

However, as soon as she was through the door, she was cornered by a grinning Kaito. He looked happier than usual, because his tongue was poking out of his mouth.

"Luka," the blue haired man said. "I know we don't know each other all that well, despite living in the same household, but you know I'm Meiko's best friend, so I…I needed to know. Are you and her…you know?"

The woman frowned, pretending to be confused. It was too soon. Perhaps he was talking about something else. "I'm sorry…I don't understand."

Kaito laughed cheerfully. He always seemed to have good humour and an enthusiastic outlook. Gumi was the same. "Luka, there's no need to be shy. You know what I mean. You and Meiko. Dating, right?"

Luka couldn't deny it now. He knew. Somehow, Kaito knew. She tried to forbid the blush on her cheeks, but she couldn't stop it. Her heart was beating, and she was fumbling with her fingers. _'Stop looking so guilty! Stay cool!'_

"I'm right! You are!"

She shook her head hastily. "No! You don't understand. It's not like that," she insisted. "Do you not remember how Meiko and I used to fight?" Before the woman could stop herself, she began to snap at the man. "And why is it any of your concern anyway? As you said, you don't know me."

The man was lost for words for a moment. "I didn't realise…Sorry Luka! You're right. I shouldn't have stuck my nose into your business." He paused for a moment, beginning to think about Meiko. She would probably get the blame for him knowing, even though, it was Rin who had brought it up. "I just kind of assumed. You and Meiko seemed very close, especially during those videos on the Vocaloid site. Opposites attract, right? I must have got it wrong. I just like to keep an eye on Meiko, seeing as she's my best friend, and all."

Luka sighed, hanging her head in shame. "My apologies. I didn't mean to snap at you like that."

'_She looks like a wilted flower,'_ Kaito thought to himself. _'All sad like that.' _He continued to smile at Luka sympathetically. "It's not a problem. You've probably had a hard day, working on the duet. Don't sweat it."

She nodded in response, muttering a quiet, 'excuse me', and sliding past Kaito. She jogged up the stairs, and found herself pausing at Meiko's door. Did she confront her?

Before Luka could make up her mind, the door opened. Meiko was wearing pyjamas, and sipping something that looked like alcohol, but could also have been water.

"What're you doing here?" Meiko asked, smiling at Luka fondly. She felt guilty about talking with Master about Luka, and she wasn't quite sure whether her girlfriend had heard them or not. The brunette tried to hug her girlfriend, but Luka wriggled away. She seemed upset about something. "What's up? Can't I give you a hug?"

The pink haired Vocaloid wrinkled her nose. "I've just had Kaito asking me whether I'm dating you or not." She ran a hand through her hair and avoided Meiko's eyes. "I thought you might have let me know, if you were going to tell someone." She tried to make the situation less tense, but her smile was so weak that it hardly worked.

Meiko frowned. "I don't know how Kaito knows. How does he know?" Her voice was quizzical and airy. She was obviously trying to make light of the situation.

"That's what I'm interested in too," Luka replied huffily. She felt Meiko tug on her hand, and lead her into the bedroom. The door closed softly behind them.

"I don't know how he'd know," Meiko replied honestly. "He's intuitive. He probably just guessed." She hesitated for a moment, still holding Luka's hand. "Why does it matter, whether they know or not? I love you. And I think you feel the same. What's the problem?"

Luka scrutinised the ground. If everybody knew her and Meiko were a couple, they'd expect them to act like a couple. To do public displays of affection, and, do couple-y things. They'd expect her to show all her emotions and suddenly become a 'fun' person because she was Meiko's girlfriend. "I thought you'd understand. I'm just a private person."

The brunette wrinkled her nose a little without realising she was doing so. "It seems like this will all be revealed soon enough anyway, now that Kaito knows."

"No, no," Luka murmured. "I denied it."

Their hands slipped apart. Meiko looked hurt. "Oh?"

Luka hesitated for a moment, unsure of what to do. After a few seconds, she finally spoke. "Are you okay?" She felt stupid asking.

The brunette shrugged, pretending to be aloof. "You seem to be embarrassed by me. Being with me, I mean."

"I didn't mean to be like that." Luka's eyebrows had creased unhappily. "I wouldn't mean to hurt you."

Meiko began to laugh. "No, it's cool. You can tell me that you're ashamed to be my girlfriend. That's okay." Her eyes seemed to be watering a little, but perhaps Luka was mistaken.

"That's not true-"

"Then why are you so secretive about all this?" Meiko's eyes met Luka's fiercely as the brown haired Vocaloid flung her hands out in frustration. "Not only have you kept it a secret, but now you're denied it, too. I am trying really hard to understand and respect your privacy, but, really Luka! How long did you want to keep it just between us? Six months? A year? Until it ended?"

"I'm just trying to come to terms with things myself!" Luka's tone was defensive and hurried.

Again, Meiko laughed coldly. "Because you never thought you'd end up with someone like me."

There was only a slight hesitation, but it made Meiko's eyes widen in disbelief. "So I'm right," the brunette whispered. "You are disappointed that you've ended up with me."

Luka shook her head frantically. "You're putting words into my mouth."

"But you had to think about the answer! You paused, Luka, you fucking paused!"

The pink haired woman flinched at the accusation. She was frozen to the spot.

"I want to be alone for a bit," Meiko said. Her eyes burned into Luka, and the blue eyed woman couldn't help but think of the times where her and Meiko used to argue horribly.

"Are you sure?" Luka asked. Her voice was timid and weak. She wanted to slap herself.

"Of course I'm sure. Go and get some sleep, or something."

* * *

**AN: **My apologies that this took a while! Tensions building in this chapter... As usual, I hope you enjoyed. Please read and review!

Also, to those who are currently off for Summer, I hope you're having a wonderful time.


	11. Hot Mess

**Chapter Eleven**

* * *

Meiko went out that evening. She didn't like brewing over things alone, and not doing anything for too long was against her rules anyway.

Also, she hadn't been to the local bar for a while.

When the brown-haired Vocaloid arrived, she wasn't surprised to see Lily and Haku at the bar. They were friends of hers, and regulars at the bar.

"Meiko! Long time no see, you scumbag," Lily cheered, holding her beverage high in the air. "I thought we'd lost ya, lovie."

Haku didn't smile. She wasn't one for being happy. Always full of put downs, directed towards herself. "Hey, Meiko."

"Sit down, sit down. I would get you a drink on me, but I'm absolutely skint, aren't I?" Lily moved to the next bar stool, and then patted the empty stool between herself and Haku. "Where have you been, then? We thought maybe you'd 'reformed'. You know, replaced all this good drink for coffee or water or fruit juice, even."

Meiko began to laugh and sat down in between her two friends. "The usual for me, Tonio," she said to the bartender, who knew all three of the ladies well.

"Lily's right," Tonio beamed. He had been working at the bar for two years, and Meiko, Lily and Haku were by far his favourite customers, despite the fact that they never tipped him. Cheap skates. "You've been gone far too long. Your first sake's on the house, lovely." He winked at the brunette before gently pushing an opened bottle in her direction.

The bar wasn't posh or fancy in any way shape or form. The fanciest thing there was Tonio, in fact. The red bar stools were peeling, and the whole place could do with a good cleaning. But that was what made it nice, to the three women who often went there. It wasn't pretentious: it was a dusty bar that served good, cheap alcohol.

"So, what have you been up to, Meiko?" asked Haku curiously. "Didn't all you 'real' Vocaloids get advertised or something? You lucky things." There was a slight hint of jealousy in Haku's voice, but Meiko supposed that was fair enough. Haku was one of the sweetest - and saddest - people she had ever met in her life. The silver-haired woman worked hard, and she did deserve some kind of recognition.

Then again, she was a shrinking violet. Always hung around with bold, loud people: the type of people who took the attention away from herself. She wanted to be known, but she didn't want people to know her, really.

Strange.

Meiko nodded and began to explain the campaigns that Master had created. Lily and Haku faced Meiko to listen, and Tonio rested his arms on the bar and also listened to the story.

"So, you and that Luka doing martial arts?" Lily was smirking at Meiko. "Who would've thought that someone like that Luka would associate with you? Isn't she supposed to be pretty tough to please?"

Tonio's lips began to twitch. He turned around and pretended to organise the bottles of drink that were on the shelf, to try and hide his grin.

"What's so funny, you?" Meiko growled.

The man shrugged, standing upright and wiping his eye. "She's right. Lily's right, for once. You and Luka are chalk and cheese." Seeing Meiko's slightly confused expression, Tonio decided to elaborate. He took an old looking wine bottle from the shelf. "This, is Luka."

"No it ain't. Although, with a few more curves-"

Lily was interrupted. "Shut up," Tonio ordered. He then went back to his explanation. "As I was saying, Luka is this wine. Very fine and classy, you see." He then put the wine back on the shelf and brought another bottle out. "This, is you, Meiko."

"What's that?"

"Put it this way: the bottle's full because nobody wants to drink it."

The bartender, Lily and Haku all burst into howls of laughter. Meiko frowned and drank more of the sake that she was nursing. "I'll have you know Luka didn't mind me too much," remarked Meiko.

The laughing began to grow quieter. "You must be joking," Haku said.

Meiko shook her head proudly. "Nope. It's hardly a surprise though, is it? Mostly everybody finds me charming," she joked. "Another sake for me, Tonio!"

"A classy bird like that," Lily mumbled. "How the hell is she friends with you? Of all people."

Tonio was shaking his head. "Hey, Meiko, don't you get involved. Someone like you doesn't belong with someone like Ms. Megurine."

"What do you mean by that?" Meiko demanded, feeling slightly offended. "You all make me out to be the most undesirable friend in town."

The bartender smiled a little. "That's true. But, you being friends with her will end badly. You'll either offend her and drive her off, or she'll change you. Stop your coming to the bar. We don't want that again, now, do we?"

"Stop fishing for business," Haku grumbled. "And you can top me up, too."

Lily was stroking her chin thoughtfully. She blinked, and took a sip of her beverage. "You know, old Tonio does have a point. And anyway, the last time I heard, this Luka person drove you up the wall." The blonde haired woman paused, before shaking her head. "You belong with us lot, anyway. We're all the same, here."

"Except I'm male," Tonio commented as he filled up Haku's glass. "But I'm sure you get the point, Meiko. Don't go shooting above your target."

Meiko tapped the table and rolled her eyes. "You're all making it out like I'm a peasant and she's a princess. Different people can be friends. Lily, aren't you friends with that Kiyoteru guy? He seems very refined compared to you."

"That's different," Lily protested matter of fact-ly. "I didn't want to be friends with him. He just wouldn't leave me alone."

Haku was smiling to herself shyly. "Yeah, because you're so irresistible Lily."

The pair began argue comically. Tonio kept them all topped up with drinks, and so, they got into the spirit of things. They drank and drank, and eventually, none of the three women were sober.

* * *

Luka couldn't sleep. She refused to, until Meiko came home.

At ten o' clock, the twins had gone to bed.

At eleven, Miku had switched off the television and told Luka goodnight.

When the clock reached twelve, there had been a polite reminder from Kaito of the time. He had told her that Meiko would be home safe and sound, just like always.

However, Luka couldn't help but worry. It was a quarter to one, and it was dark and dangerous outside. Where was Meiko? Was she with people? Was she safe? How was she going to get home?

At exactly twelve fifty-eight, there was a rattle of the key in the door. Luka rushed off her seat and opened the door. Her hands had been shaky and hasty. It had to be Meiko.

And, it was.

"Have you not seen the time?" the brunette asked, placing her hands on her hips. "Good girls ought to be in bed."

Luka closed her eyes for a second, and pretended that she was sat alone drinking tea. She imagined herself in a serene environment. "You're home." Her words were fragile. Really, Luka had wanted to tell Meiko how worried she had been, and how relieved she was that Meiko had returned home.

"I think I'd better go to the bathroom," Meiko muttered. "I'm not feeling too good." She began to walk up the stairs. Luka followed every step, worried that Meiko might fall.

The pair went into the bathroom, and Luka locked the door behind them.

"I don't need someone to hold my hair," noted Meiko, who was hunched over the toilet. She wiggled a lock of her short hair in Luka's direction, raising her eyebrows.

Luka had been leaning against the door, but now she sat on her knees behind Meiko, stroking the brunette's back cautiously.

As she was stroking Meiko's back, Luka couldn't help but feel upset. "You shouldn't have drank so much," she murmured, before resting her forehead against Meiko wearily. Why did Meiko do this to herself? Why did she damage her reputation so much, just to drink some god awful tasting liquid?

"I drink because it tastes nice," Meiko replied. She sounded less arrogant now. Luka's loving actions had calmed her a little, although, she wouldn't admit that. "My friends. We all drink together."

Luka's cheek had found its way onto Meiko's back, and that was where it stayed. "It's not good for you. Unless you find it pleasant, hanging your head over a toilet at one o' clock in the morning."

A slight chuckle escaped Meiko. "You don't have to look after me. I don't want you too." She hesitated. "And I'm still angry with you."

The blue-eyed Vocaloid raised her head as the brunette began to vomit. Her fingers still traced Meiko's back, however. It was uncomfortable, watching Meiko like that. Meiko wasn't a weak person, but when she was drunk…She seemed so vulnerable. What if something had happened to her?

Luke shook her head. Didn't think about that. A tight knot had formed in her stomach, as she thought about all the things that's could've happened. Could have, but didn't.

Lucky escape.

"Do you feel a little better?"

"My head hurts."

"You'll have to bear it," Luka sighed. She paused, before letting her right hand creep along Meiko's spine and neck, until it met the woman's cheek. "Don't be angry with me."

There was a small silence. "Too bad. I am angry with you and I don't want your pity. I like getting drunk. It's what I do." Meiko pushed Luka's hand away, frowning to herself. She hated that she'd allowed Luka to see her like this. She didn't want her help or her pity or her love: she wanted nothing off her.

"I'm not ashamed of you," Luka said quietly. "Although…."

Meiko could feel the hotness within her cheeks. "Although what?"

"Although, this is…this is sad." Luka bit her bottom lip. Kept her hands to herself, this time. "When you're upset, you shouldn't go and get drunk. That's not a good way to deal with things."

"I'll deal with things how I like!" The brunette woman closed her eyes tightly. She didn't realise that her voice had become louder.

"Goodnight, Meiko."

Luka stood up, left the room and closed the door behind her.

Nothing happened for a moment. Meiko sat in silence. Afterwards, she stood up, washed her face and looked into the mirror. The reflection looked upset.

Didn't matter.

'_I'd better sleep,'_ she thought to herself, touching her forehead gingerly. She could feel the blood rushing through her head, and it hurt. Every step she took, she could feel in her head.

Bed was the answer. Definitely.

In her room, Meiko didn't bother changing into pyjamas; she could sleep in her underwear. She took off her outer clothing and then curled up in bed. The sheets were cold. Not like the times when Luka had been curled up against her…

Once again, Meiko closed her eyes firmly. She just wanted to go to sleep.

* * *

The next morning, when Meiko awoke, she was glad to see two pills and a glass of cold water on the desk near her bed. She stayed in bed for a while and eventually took the pills.

She couldn't help but wonder whether it was Luka who had left the pills for her.

Afterwards, Meiko took a shower. She switched the water between hot and cold, as she always did the morning after heavy drinking. Then, she got dressed and went downstairs.

In the kitchen, Kaito was making an omelette. Luka was sat down reading a newspaper and drinking tea.

"Hi, Meiko," Kaito greeted, smiling at the said woman. "I left those pills for you. They usually do you some good."

Luka didn't speak.

"Thanks Kaito. They did the trick."

"Good. Anyway, I'm gonna go eat this super tasty omelette. Unless you want me to make you something?"

Meiko shook her head. "No, no. You go and enjoy your omelette."

Kaito dished the omelette out on a plate and glanced at Meiko. She looked pretty rough. There were bags under her eyes, darkened by shower-smudged mascara. She also looked vacant, in her eyes.

Then again, at least Meiko had come home.

Once Kaito left the room, Meiko busied herself with making a coffee.

"How are you feeling?"

The brunette turned. Luka was still reading the paper.

"Okay."

"Do you remember last night?"

Luka was being colder with Meiko, compared to how she had been last night. It made Meiko wonder.

"Of course I do," Meiko replied, sitting down at the table with her coffee. She was lying, a little. Parts of being in the bar and getting home were gone completely, but she could remember being in the bathroom. That odd intimacy and closeness that Luka had been showing. Stroking her back, the hand on her cheek. Luka's cheek on her spine. Meiko used her forefinger to gently pull down Luka's paper. "Don't hide from me."

"What makes you think I'd hide from you?" Luka's blue eyes had narrowed. "I was simply trying to catch up with current affairs."

Overnight, Luka's sympathy had waned slightly. Meiko was hurting her. Luka had tried her best to be a really good girlfriend; the kind of girlfriend that Meiko wanted.

Apparently, she hadn't done the job correctly. She had failed.

Meiko shrugged. "How would I know? You'd have to tell me."

"Are you trying to pick a fight with me?" Luka swatted the newspaper down on the table. She wouldn't be able to enjoy it now. Irritated. She couldn't read while she was irritated.

"No," Meiko replied innocently. Although she still…loved Luka, she was angry with her. And when Meiko was angry or annoyed, she didn't think straight. She turned into another person, really. "What makes you think that?"

She teased and prodded and aggravated people, to get rid of the anger that boiled inside her. Kaito had always warned her that it would get her into trouble. That one day, Meiko would hurt someone, or someone would hit back with words crueller than she could imagine.

Not that Meiko had listened to him.

"You're trying to argue with me so you can accuse me of being ashamed of you again," Luka replied, resting her cheek on the knuckles of her hand. "Perhaps we ought to spend some time apart."

"Get rid of me for a while, right?"

Luka closed her eyes. She was sat on a beach, reading her favourite book. The sun was shining, and cool waves of water lapped at the foot of the beach.

Then, her eyes clicked open.

"It's not like that at all. I just think you need to calm down. Get this anger out of your system, so we can talk about this properly."

"Aren't we talking now?"

"Yes. If you have something to tell me, please go ahead."

Meiko hesitated. Should've expected this. Luka was ruining the plan. Meiko wanted to shout, show the world that she was an angry person who was angry with Luka.

If she talked through it all…then it would be revealed she wasn't even that angry anymore. She was hurting; her heart was hurting. She wanted Luka to love her and be okay with people knowing that.

She wanted everybody to know that she loved Luka. Show all those fools at the bar that her and Luka were a great team.

"I have…a lot to say!" Meiko began. Her throat was tight with unshed tears. "You're… Everybody thinks you're too good for me. And you do too! You look at me and you see a drunken failure of a Vocaloid. And I'm not!"

Luka eyed Meiko. Frowned a little. Meiko was losing her composure, it seemed. "You're upsetting yourself." She paused, and moved her free hand a little way across the table. "You're not angry this morning, are you?"

'_God damn it! What is she? Some kind of emotional analyzer?'_ Meiko shook her head. "I still think you're ashamed to be with me. Because you're Luka Megurine, the one and only. Generation two, and all that jazz."

The pink-haired woman flinched. Her hand drew back towards herself. "You sound like you did when we first met," Luka said nervously.

'_You sound like you did when you hated me.'_

"I'm right, aren't I?" Meiko continued. She was not upset. She never allowed herself to get upset. She wasn't hurt, she was angry. That was what she told herself, anyway. "If you like me, God knows if you do, you hate it because I'm some… I'm some shitty Vocaloid who isn't right for you. And you're this superstar, and you think I'm going to drag you down. Admit it, Luka! Tell the truth!"

Luka turned her face away. "You're being unfair. I've never…I've never felt that way about you."

Meiko watched as Luka stood up. The pink-haired woman was brushing her face with her hands; walking towards the door.

"You said we should talk!" Meiko called.

"Just forget it. There's no point wasting my time with your childish, stubborn behaviour."

And then, Meiko was alone.

* * *

**AN: **Another argument filled chapter, I know. Hope you guys enjoy, anyway! Please read and review. :-)


	12. Logical Mistake

**Chapter Twelve**

* * *

During the week, Meiko had logically thought through the situation between her and Luka and come up with a plan. A plan that made sense, and would work - as long as Meiko's logic was right, and as long as everything went correctly.

"Lily?"

Meiko paced outside the Vocaloid house, waiting for a response. She'd intentionally called at noon, knowing that Lily was not an early riser, and that she was most probably hung over.

"Who is it?" The response came. It was easy to tell that Lily had just been woken up.

"It's me: Meiko. I need you to do me a favour."

"I'm not getting involved if it's not legal, Meiko; those are my rules now."

"Of course it's legal! Just come round later. Okay?"

There was a short pause. A small groan. "Okay."

It took just under an hour for Lily to meet Meiko at the Vocaloid house. Surprisingly, the blonde-haired woman looked immaculate.

Lily knocked on the door, and Meiko bound to meet her.

"So," Lily said, crossing her arms and raising an eyebrow quizzically. "What do you want?" She walked into the house, wiped her feet on the little mat behind the door and let Meiko lead her to the kitchen.

Both women took a seat, across the table from each other. "Me and Kaito have a…bet going on. I told him that he probably couldn't pull a man, and he said that I had no chance of pulling a woman. If I successfully pull a woman before him, I win the bet."

Meiko's logic was this. If Luka saw another woman flirting with her, that'd made her pay attention to Meiko again; Luka would demand why Meiko dared look at another woman and realise how much she loved the brunette all over again. It all made perfect sense, in Meiko's mind.

She needed it to work, too. She had started off angry at Luka, then progressed to feeling hurt, and then moved onto feeling lonesome, and perhaps, a little bit guilty. She shouldn't have gotten drunk.

"And why did you pick me?" Lily snorted. "Is your implication that I will flirt with anybody? You and Kaito have way too much time on your hands anyway, mate. And won't Kaito have to see us?" Lily placed her hand sideways above her eyes, looking around the kitchen and squinting. "I don't see him in here!"

The brunette Vocaloid grinned. "Luka knows about the bet. So, if either her or Kaito come in here, then it's fine." She was crossing her fingers under the table, hoping that what she wanted would eventually happen.

Lily was holding back a laugh. "I thought Tonio warned you about that woman!" She leaned across the table, shaking Meiko's shoulders. "You're wasting away your drinking talent… She'll contaminate you, with her elegance and fancy ways! That's not our life Meiko! Stay where you belong!" Lily then paused, her hands still on Meiko's shoulders. "I don't actually know how to flirt with you. My standards are usually higher."

"What?" Meiko scoffed, raising an eyebrow. "You don't know how to flirt with me? Well, excuse you, Lily, but I think you'll find that I'm your number one girl." She began to smile, before her eyes flicked towards the slightly open door. "Someone's coming!"

Still holding Meiko's shoulders, Lily's face went blank. She was thinking for her best pick up lines, when the mystery person walked into the kitchen. "Wow, Meiko, you're soooo funny! I could just listen to you all day…and, uh, all night, if you know what I'm saying." Lily leaned back and plopped herself back down on the kitchen chair.

Luka, who had just entered the kitchen, didn't even bat an eyelid. She remained focused on the task at hand: she wanted some tea, and she was going to get it. End of story.

"Why, thank you, Lily," Meiko muttered. She pulled a face at her friend, wondering how Lily had gone from flirty extraordinaire to that. "Luka! Have you ever met Lily?"

The pink-haired woman turned for a moment, eyed Lily, and then turned. "No, I don't think I have."

During the past week, Luka had generally avoided Meiko. Luckily, she had spent a lot of time recording with Gakupo at the studio, which meant she started early in the mornings and came home at around eight. Never once, during the week had Luka allowed herself to be alone with Meiko. That would have just been too much.

Lily pulled a face at Meiko, wondering why Luka had looked so displeased to see her. "Well, it's a pleasure to meet you, Luka," the blonde-haired woman finally managed. She was used to people not liking her at first, due to her 'strong personality' and 'drinking habits'. "I've heard lots."

"All good, I hope," Luka replied, pouring hot water into a mug. "I see you and Meiko are close, hm?"

Despite Luka having her back facing them, Meiko nodded enthusiastically. "Oh, you bet. Together forever, Lily, right?"

"I could just…kiss you right now, you big sweetie!" Lily was looking concentrated. When you were told to flirt with somebody, it made it so much harder to actually flirt. She was usually so great at this!

Biting her lip to stop herself from laughing, Meiko nodded her head. "Definitely later," she muttered, hanging her head down as she regained her composure.

Luka turned, holding her cup of tea. "Lovely to meet you, Lily."

"You sure are lucky, having Meiko in the house," Lily called, watching as Luka left the room. She then frowned. "You turned me into the type of person I reject on a regular basis."

Meiko began to laugh. "What kind of flirting was that? But, thanks. She'll tell Kaito, and I'll have that bet won."

Frowning a little, Lily stretched her arms. "I hope I meet her again. She must think I'm a huge, cheesy dweeb. God damn it!"

"Maybe underneath all the bravado, you are a big, cheesy dweeb," Meiko teased lightheartedly. Her thoughts turned to Luka. She could imagine Luka now, pacing her bedroom, wanting to grab Meiko by the shoulders and shake some sense into her, admit that she loved her and tell everybody about it. Overcome with jealousy.

* * *

In reality, Luka was actually sat on the edge of her bed, drinking the tea she had made. She paused a moment, sipped a little more, and then pulled out her laptop. Typed in 'Lily Masuda', but quickly deleted it; she felt stupid and creepy.

Although, Lily, and Meiko, were on her mind. It was obvious that Lily's flirting was staged. But still. It bugged Luka horribly.

She began to search other things on the internet, instead. Tried to read a book, but ended up staring at her ceiling. Checked the time a few times. Listened to her ipod, but it didn't soothe her. She even began pulling faces at herself in the mirror, all in the attempt to try and relax herself, and get her mind off of the troublesome people who had been in the kitchen.

Eventually, after an hour or so of restless thinking, Luka went downstairs. She poked her head into the kitchen, to see nobody was there. She sighed a little in relief, a little glad that she hadn't found anybody.

"Looking for someone?"

Luka jumped, tightening her grip on the kitchen door before turning around with anger in her eyes. What kind of idiotic person sneaks up on people like that?

"Lily went earlier, in case you were wondering," Meiko continued, looking expectantly at Luka. Almost like she was urging her to speak.

"I wasn't," Luka muttered. "I just didn't want to interrupt you both, in case you were still in there."

Meiko rolled her eyes, causing Luka to frown. "Okay, okay. Anything you need to get off your chest?"

Feeling confused, Luka shook her head. "No?"

The brunette's brown eyes intensified. "Are you sure? You're not madly jealous that Lily was flirting with me so heavily that she wanted me in bed with her?" Meiko demanded, exasperated.

Again, Luka shook her head. Her nose had wrinkled slightly, as she listened to Meiko. "Certainly not. Lily seemed nice."

Meiko rolled her head back, groaning. "I set everything up for you so that we could go back to being good again. You're forgiven. I forgave you!"

"Gee, thanks," Luka muttered. "I…appreciate what you tried to do, Meiko, but….No. No thank you." Luka tried to sidestep past, but Meiko had her arms outstretched and was purposely blocking the way.

"What do you mean by that?"

Luka stopped trying to get past and looked her in the eye. "If you forgave me, you should have just told me. Although, I hadn't actually done anything wrong. You didn't need to think up some…elaborate and moronic scheme."

Now, Meiko seemed less confident. "Oh?"

"Yes, oh," Luka repeated. "Like I said: I think we ought to take a break from each other." It hurt her to say it, but it was true. The tension that surrounded them was all too much. It was like somebody was constantly pushing down on Luka's shoulders, reminding her that she was Meiko's girlfriend. Reminding her that Meiko thought she was ashamed; reminding her that Meiko wanted people to know they loved one another.

Meiko was shaking her head, refusing the statement. "I'm sorry I got drunk that night."

"We're obviously not in the right state of mind to be in a relationship," Luka murmured, patting Meiko's shoulder as some kind of consolation. "It's not…it's not like my feelings have changed. Just a break. You need one. I need one. That's all." She paused again, registering that upset on Meiko's face. "Then it'll get better. Okay?" Her voice had become tender, like a shiver running up someone's spine.

"Fine," Meiko replied. "I get it. Okay. We 'need' breaks." She was frowning at the floor, kicking her shoe gently. "Okay. Got ya."

Luka's eyes rested uneasily on Meiko for a second, and then she wiggled past her and fled. Meiko remained still, staring at the floor.

"This sucks," she mumbled to herself, biting her lip.

* * *

Later that night, Kaito and Meiko were sat in the living room, watching a midnight showing of some classic action-adventure film. Kaito had been talking enthusiastically about Gumi, but shut up quickly when he realised that Meiko was being completely silent and listening.

From the first time they had met, Meiko had never sat completely silent and listened to him. Something was wrong.

Kaito brought in a tub of ice cream - the biggest comfort food he knew of - and two small spoons. He sat down on a cushion on the carpet, and gestured for Meiko to come sit with him. She looked unenthusiastic, but did so anyway.

Once she was sat down, Kaito threw a blanket at her, and cuddled himself in his own, blue, blanket. He also handed Meiko a spoon and muted the television.

"What's wrong then?" he asked, beginning to dig at the slightly frosted top of the ice cream.

Meiko ate a spoonful of ice cream, before grumbling an incomprehensible reply.

"What?"

"She thinks 'we ought to take a break from each other'," Meiko repeated sourly. "If you hadn't told me to be nice to her, this never would have happened."

Kaito knew that 'she' was Luka. He had known it since that day Luka had denied the fact. It was all just so obvious, now that he knew. "Maybe that is for the best. She's not stupid."

"She can be," Meiko grunted, glancing up at her friend.

The blue-haired man smiled sympathetically. "Can't we all?" He ate some ice cream, letting it dissolve pleasantly in his mouth before answering. "It's better than her saying that you've flat out broken up though, isn't it?" He paused a little, looking uneasy. "It's not my place to say, but, Meiko, she cares for you. It's so evident."

Meiko pulled a face. "She cares so much that she wanted to keep us a secret."

"That's just a personal thing," Kaito muttered, shooing his hand to dispel Meiko's words. "After you were sent away to do that campaign together, it was so obvious that something had shifted. I paid attention to you - to you both." Kaito smiled. "She looks at you the way I look at Gumi." He stopped again, trying to get Meiko's attention. "Do you remember last month or so, when we all went to the beach?"

The brunette nodded, but she concentrated on the ice cream.

Kaito rested his eyes on her. "And you remember, you and the twins and Gumi were playing volleyball? Me and Gakupo were somewhere paddling in the sea. Luka was reading on the beach, and Miku was sunbathing next to her."

"Of course I remember. I got hit in the face with that volleyball that Rin punched." Meiko finally met Kaito's eyes. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"That's what I was getting in to," Kaito explained. "You stumbled onto the sand-"

Meiko rolled her eyes. "Yes, I do remember that!"

The blue eyed man began to grin. "Yes. And Luka's reaction was the quickest. She just dropped her book and ran towards you, right? She was right by your side before anybody else had anything to do with it, and she hadn't even been playing volleyball. That confirmed it for me."

"You knew before you asked Luka about it?"

Kaito began to laugh. "Of course I did. I'm your best friend, after all. I didn't ask about it, because I thought you'd tell me in your own time. But then Rin asked about it-"

"Rin asked about it?" Meiko looked at her friend in disbelief.

He nodded. "Yeah. Said something about you referring to Luka as your girlfriend." He then shook his head. "But that wasn't the point! The point is Meiko, you've got to give her time. You and Luka are completely different, so of course you don't operate in the same way. Chill."

Meiko nodded, although, she still looked slightly dismayed. "I guess I kind of screwed up. I just wanted everything to go right! You know I did!"

Kaito sighed and pulled Meiko into his arms. She seemed grateful, as she wasn't hesitant about hugging him back. "I know you did," Kaito repeated. "Of course you did."

* * *

**AN: **God Bless Lily. Any thoughts on this chapter? Please read and review!


	13. But I Love You

**Chapter Thirteen**

* * *

It was a week and a half before Luka caved. The aching came, and the loneliness and wanting. Wondering what Meiko would be doing (without her).

Luka, for one, was definitely not fond of the feeling, and it seemed like the break was no longer needed.

The pink-haired woman made some tea, a reliable and soothing comforter, drank it and then knocked on Meiko's door politely.

"Coming, coming!"

The door opened, and Meiko's faced appeared. The brunette looked down at herself, slightly embarrassed by the fact she was still wearing pyjamas at three in the afternoon.

"I really need to stop buying these childish pyjamas," Meiko muttered, holding the door open and letting Luka inside. The door clicked shut behind them.

Sitting down on Meiko's bed, Luka shrugged. She took in the smell of Meiko's bedroom, knowing that it was thoroughly Meiko. Coffee, and the perfume she wore; a warm, friendly smell in the air. "I don't know," she murmured. "I quite like the fact that you're wearing teddy bear pyjamas. Although, the duck print shorts are definitely my favourite."

A small blush appeared on Meiko's face as she leaned against the cluttered desk. "I bet you wear a night cap and a gown."

At the back of Meiko's mind, there was a small tugging thought, asking what Luka wanted. Hopefully, it wasn't breaking up. Think positive! There didn't seem to be an awkward tension in the room, which was a good start, at least.

Luka's chuckling brought Meiko out of her thoughts. "No. I wear normal pyjamas, that normal twenty year old women wear."

"So you're calling yourself normal now, huh?" Meiko raised an eyebrow, but after a short pause, the comical look on her face was gone. "Anyway…"

"Yes. Anyway." The pink haired woman smiled uneasily, her fingers curling in her lap. "I just wanted to ask you something."

"Shoot."

"I wanted to know what the result would be if I told everybody that I…that I loved you, at dinner tonight." Her cheeks reddened as she got the words out.

Everybody would be there. Even Gakupo, and that was saying something. Gakupo seemed to enjoy being alone a lot of the time; the man insisted that he was devoted to his samurai arts.

But, that day, Gumi had insisted that he came with her. Gumi was around a lot of the time. She obviously came round to see Kaito, mostly, but she also liked seemed close to Rin and Len, and sometimes spent time with Miku.

"You know that'd make me pretty happy," Meiko mumbled, looking downwards and trying to conceal her shining grin. "But I mean, if you don't want to say it yourself, I'll-"

"No..!" Meiko's head jerked upwards. Luka's voice was hasty, and louder than before. "I have to say it. That's the point!"

Meiko nodded. "I get that." She approached Luka, and cautiously wrapped her arms around the woman. "Thanks. For doing this for me."

"I want to," Luka said, unhooking Meiko's arms from around her and kissing her softly.

They stayed like that for a while. Simply enjoying each other's company; the sense that something lost had been found and that things were right again.

* * *

At dinner, the nerves began to set in. Luka was in the kitchen alone, but she knew that at the dinner table, everybody was there. And when she told them…

The woman ignored her thoughts and went back to the table. Everybody was eating, and Kaito was recalling some funny incident that had happened to him a few days ago.

Luka's blue eyes settled on Meiko as she sat down. The brunette was laughing along at Kaito's story, looking at the storyteller with a friendly interest.

She had such a lovely laugh.

"Luka, you missed one of Kaito's rare funny stories!" Rin announced teasingly.

There was a nice chatter at the table, in between people eating. Luka could hardly eat a thing. She pushed some rice around her plate and found herself arranging it in a pattern.

"Are you alright?"

A small silence descended onto the table, but Luka didn't notice. She had finally made the pattern she had been aiming for, although, she could definitely see room for improvement.

"Luka?"

The said woman raised her head suddenly, not realising that Gumi had been asking her. "Yes?"

Gumi smiled warmly, amused by the situation. "Are you alright? You don't seem to be eating much." She glanced over at Luka's plate. "Nice rice pattern, though. Modern art."

Both Rin and Len glanced at each other, before leaning over the table to see the rice pattern that Luka had made. They didn't think that someone like Luka did things like that, but they also seemed amused by it.

"I can do the same thing with a sword," Gakupo joked.

"I'm fine," Luka replied quickly. "I'm just not hungry. But I do have some…news?"

Her cheeks flushed noticeably as the others looked at her expectantly. She tried not to meet their eyes, but it was difficult, with them all staring at her like that.

"Me and Meiko are dating," the pink-haired woman finally managed, crushing the words together hastily.

Another silence. Luka glanced around, waiting for someone to say something. Her palms were sweating. She looked at Meiko, but the brunette seemed very casual.

"Congratulations to us," Meiko said finally. The corners of her lips curved upwards, and she looked slightly like a Cheshire cat. Casual and confident and amused.

Kaito shook his head, blinking his eyes as if he'd been in a daze. "That was my line! Congratulations to you, I mean. Congratulations!"

"What he said!" Gumi agreed, her voice as enthusiastic as ever. "I can hear the sounds of double dating…"

Miku was smiling warmly, but Len seemed disappointed.

"I told you so," Rin told him, grinning. "Now you owe me a little bit of cash, no?" She gave Luka a big thumbs up sign. "If you'd waited much longer, my money and I would have been separated."

"Are you even supposed to bet on things like that? Isn't it kinda rude?" Miku asked, shaking her head at Rin. "What if I bet on you and-"

"Shut up!"

"Now now children," Gakupo teased, with a small smile emerging on his face. "Instead of bickering, we should be toasting to Meiko and Luka's happiness. Yes?"

Relief washed over Luka, as if she had just been eased into a spa. She couldn't help but smile to herself, and her eyes met Meiko's.

She felt so accepted.

* * *

After dinner, Luka stood in the kitchen, washing up the dishes. She didn't have to, but she wanted to. Although the others didn't understand it, she didn't mind cleaning. It made her feel useful.

Luka bit her bottom lip when two hands covered her eyes.

"Guess who?" The voice was fake. It was obviously Meiko trying to sound like a gruff man.

The pink-haired woman thought about her answer. "Well, I have no idea. Is that you, Master?"

"Hey! That's really insulting. We both know that he's a git," Meiko complained, reverting back to her usual voice and standing by Luka's side.

Luka laughed, continuing to wash the dishes. She felt much calmer since admitting to everybody about her and Meiko.

"I still don't get this cleaning thing, y'know," Meiko continued. "You're not Cinderella!" She went back around to standing behind Luka and gently began undoing the woman's apron. "I was thinking…would you want to meet my friends? They're kind of deadbeats, but you'll like Tonio! And you've met Lily."

The reason Meiko was asking was simple. Partly because she wanted to show off her amazing girlfriend, and partly because she wanted to prove a point to the bar crowd. And anyway, Luka did deserve to do something fun.

The brunette spotted the doubtful expression on Luka's face. "We wouldn't stay for long! We could go see a film. Go see a film, go meet my friends, come home."

"I wouldn't want to impose on your social circle," Luka replied shyly.

However, she did agree.

And so, they did go and see a film. Meiko, claiming that she was as gallant and kind as a true knight, bought the popcorn. The brunette also insisted that they sat in the dark back rows, and they did.

"We have a lot of kissing to make up on," Meiko explained, once the film began. "And I am not stingy with my affections."

* * *

After the film, and admittedly, a lot of affection, they went to the bar that Meiko's friends hung out at.

Meiko went in first, and Luka followed. She was a newbie.

"Meiko, you're back!" Tonio cheered. The door nearly closed as Meiko entered, but was pushed open. "And you brought a friend. I didn't realise you had any."

"And it's Luka," Lily said, smiling a little. "You remember me, right? How do?"

Haku lifted her head drowsily. "What happened to not shooting above the target, eh?" Thankfully, she was so drunk that her words were hardly understandable.

Ignoring the comments, Meiko took a seat at the bar and gestured for Luka to take the one next to her.

"So, ladies," Tonio said, leaning on the bar and flashing Luka a friendly smile. "What'll it be?" He took down a bottle that Meiko recognised. That'd been the bottle that Tonio had said was like her, because nobody wanted to drink it. "Maybe this for you, Meiko?"

Haku began to laugh, recognising the joke. "Funny guy Tonio, funny guy. You're a funny, funny guy!" It was apparent that the silver-haired woman was smashed out of her mind.

"I'll just take the usual," Meiko replied, smiling.

Luka tore her eyes away from Haku. "I'll have what she's having."

"Do you mean Meiko or Haku, love?" Lily teased, laughing at her own joke. "I wouldn't take what Haku's having. It'd probably give you some pretty bad hallucinations."

Tonio put down two bottles of sake on the bar and put a glass down with Luka's - something that he didn't usually do. "Shut up, Lily," he grunted. "You're giving poor Haku a bad name. And this bar. Don't want to be scaring off the customers, now do we?"

Lily raised an eyebrow. "What customers?"

A laugh, hidden behind her hands, came from Luka's mouth. Both Lily and the bartender looked at each other, surprised.

They were even more surprised when Luka gave the glass back to Tonio and took a sip straight from the bottle.

"Atta girl," Meiko grinned.

"It's strong stuff!" Haku warned, with her head in her arms. "So strong that it'd knock a bear backwards. You feel me?"

"No Haku, dear, we don't want to feel you," Lily groaned, smiling mischievously. "I have other people for that kind of thing."

A small sobbing sound came from Haku. "It's Kiyoteru, isn't it? Tell me the truth Lily! It's that man!"

The blonde-haired woman rolled her eyes and patted Haku's shoulder comfortingly. "Do ignore her. She's always like this. Aren't you?"

"Nobody understands," Haku whined. "Nobody!"

Meiko and Tonio were laughing. Luka was trying not to, but spluttering unsuccessfully.

Tonio then turned his attention to Luka, the newcomer. "What're you doing letting Meiko drag you to a place like this, anyway? What're you doing with Meiko full stop?"

Meiko frowned at the bartender. "It's sass like that that drives away all your customers, mister."

"This bar is nice," Luka smiled, taking another cautious sip of her drink. This was stronger than that stuff Meiko had given her. It burnt the back of her throat, like chemicals. But, it was pleasant. Kind of. "But, if you'll excuse me, I have to go to the ladies room."

Lily pointed to a door. "Beware of the cobwebs!"

When Luka had left, Lily grinned at Meiko.

"So, it turns out the Ice Queen is quite alright, hm?"

Tonio nodded. "Yeah, Meiko."

The brunette shrugged, smiling to herself. "I make friends easily." She paused, and her smile widened. "Girlfriends, easily."

Tonio's jaw dropped open. "You're kidding."

There seemed to be a look of comprehension on Lily's face. "You scheming little…So that's why you wanted me to flirt with you!"

Haku looked upwards. "What the hell is going on?"

Before anybody could reply, Luka came out from the bathroom. Meiko finished her drink in a few large gulps and paid the bill, smirking.

"Looks like we've got to go," she said, taking Luka's hand and leaving the bar.

Once outside, Luka made Meiko stop. "What did they say?"

The pair of them had planned the whole encounter on the way to the bar.

"Oh, Luka, you're an honorary member."

The pink haired woman clasped Meiko's hands between her own, with a look of complete happiness of her face.

"They can't believe I've scored a girl like you," Meiko continued, beginning to walk along with Luka. Their hands were together, and theirs arms swung happily in unison as they walked.

"Meiko?"

"Yeah?"

"That sake…it didn't taste like the stuff you gave me at the hotel that time. The first time I had alcohol. It was much stronger. Like fire, and nail polish."

Meiko smiled guiltily. "That stuff I gave you at the hotel…I went downstairs to the hotel bar and asked them if they'd mix your sake with something weaker. I think they gave you half a low calorie foreign beer. I didn't think it would be clever to start you off with the proper stuff, but you still went off your head. Good job I didn't give you the proper stuff."

Luka's mouth opened slightly. "You're kidding?" She gave Meiko a playful shove. "Meiko, you're kidding!"

"Nope. Sorry! That's why the bottle was already open when I gave it to you."

"I really am a lightweight, aren't I?"

"Definitely."

They smiled at each other, and continued on their walk home, together.

* * *

**AN: **A fluffy ending. You'll have to thank The Queen Of Double Standards for being a really great BETA. Do not fear readers! I'm pretty certain I have another MeikoxLuka story up my sleeve... Anyway, thanks for reading, and I hope you all enjoyed.


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